


The Mystery of The Neon Lights

by 32Q27



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:29:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 49,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23419783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/32Q27/pseuds/32Q27
Summary: Y/N is the newest handmaiden for the royal family of Corona. Her new life, however, isn't exactly as she expected and she is soon bombarded with all new challenges. From rude foreign dignitaries, to perfecting her duties, to the mysterious royal alchemist at the end of the hall, Y/N is going to need all the help she can get.(Lost Motivation, so kinda ends without resolution.)
Relationships: Varian (Disney)/Reader
Comments: 33
Kudos: 139





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfiction I have ever written, let alone shared. I hope you've enjoyed it so far and thank you so much for reading. I'm going to try and update as quickly as possible. Please let me know what you think!

It was nearly mid-day and I was already exhausted. My arms ached and a piercing throb in my back was no help either. The cloying warmth of the kitchens alternated with the frantic washing of the laundry made me feel damp and sweaty. Being the newest handmaiden for the palace of Corona certainly had its perks, the provided rooms and generous pay were huge supports but there was also something to be said of being able to live in the very same building as royalty. Granted, my first day wasn't exactly going as planned. They had stationed me in nearly every post they could think of and I still somehow managed to mess them up. I had no talent for sewing or embroidery, so that was out from the beginning, My attempts to tend to the horses had left me covered in hay and one unfortunate guard headed straight to the infirmary, I had soaked the other maids in the laundry and I won't even mention my attempts at setting up the banquet hall. So now it was the kitchen, my only option left after this was to spend all day everyday cleaning and I couldn't imagine anything more mind-numbingly boring than that.  
"(Y/N)! Take this tray up to the banquet hall now! Serve it to the visiting lord and try and make yourself presentable before someone sees you!" shouted the head chef. She wasn't the warmest figure, but she ran a tight ship and commanded great respect from all of the servants under her careful watch. I had hoped to make some sort of good impression on her, but it seems my awful first day was beginning to spread through the palace and she carefully watched me with a suspicious eye. I curtsied, deciding not to waste time with conversation and grabbed the awaiting tray from the counter. Before leaving the hectic kitchens, I took a moment to look in the mirror. I sighed, I looked like a mess. My hair was completely astray, my eyes frantic and stressed, even in the low lighting of the kitchen I was sure I looked paler than normal, stray bits of straw had found its way onto my clothing, and I still looked suspiciously damp. I took a breath, forcing the thoughts to leave my mind, grabbing a cloth from my pocket I tied back my hair and made the effort to soothe my frayed nerves.  
Rushing through the servant's halls to make it to the banquet hall before the food got cold or the guests impatient was a task I would have to learn to master. I was determined to find the place where I would fit in among the palace and make myself useful, maybe if I was lucky they could somehow forget how awful I had started. Racing through the dim halls made me feel as though I was on a secret mission, tasked with some great and important task. I chuckled lightly to myself, amused by the strange thought. I approached the door at the end of the passage, pausing just a moment to fix my posture and prepare myself for the scrutiny of royalty.  
The banquet hall was enormous and beautifully decorated, decorated in sparkling gold and deep purple. The blazing emblem of Corona shimmered with a new light, the golden sun freshly polished and radiating warmth. The vaulted ceilings made me feel like a speck in a world of giants and shivered at the sudden wave of insignificance in a large world. The banquet table nearly stretched from one end of the hall to the other and was packed with foreign dignitaries from all the seven kingdoms. I had been so busy preparing for the event that I hadn't even tried to learn what such an important event was being commemorated by the occasion. I mentally slapped myself, how could I be so ignorant? I fixed my gaze ahead, making my posture perfectly straight despite the pain in my back, I silently hoped that the smile fixed onto my face looked more genuine than it felt. I focused on making my footsteps light, hearing the strict voice of the cook as I tried to look demure and poised. I nearly laughed again at that thought, Me? Demure and poised? Yeah, no, that wasn't happening.  
I approached the visiting lord, looking at the floor respectfully as I carefully set the tray before him. He was wreathed in luxury, the extensive beadwork on his richly colored clothes made my hands hurt in sympathy for the poor maid forced to labor hour after hour. I backed away softly, hoping against hope that I had done everything correctly. I was nearly to the door when an angered cry made me freeze in place.  
"Maid! Yes you, servant girl!" I turned slowly back to the lord. His face was red with anger, his muddy brown eyes trained on me with disgust. I shrunk down, my eyes darting quickly back to the floor as I slowly approached the man. The room was dead silent, the low chatter that had previously filled the room now was replaced with tense quiet. I gulped, a cold sweat settling over my entire body, my fingers knotted into my apron. This was exactly what I had feared, but what had I done wrong? "You," he sneered, the disgust palpable in his voice. "Not only is my food cold it isn't prepared anywhere near to my expectations. Not to mention your appearance, what kind of palace employ servants who look like this?" I felt my cheeks turn red, anger and embarrassment welling up within me as I repeatedly told myself that I would not cry, I refused to shame myself any further. A wave of self-loathing crashed onto me, I was a total screw up, the palace should have never hired me, I was a shame to the kingdom of Corona.  
I looked up from the floor, the lord was waiting for some kind of response though I doubted it was from me. He was glaring expectantly at King Frederic and Queen Arianna but they had both been stunned into silence. All of the eyes in the room were fixed upon me and the lord, their expressions either entirely neutral or simply stunned. Would no one help me? I begged for someone, anyone to come to my aid, and then I glanced at his platter that had started this entire fiasco.  
"Pardon me, your Lordship," I began, careful to mask my smirk as a kind smile. "But your meal is supposed to be cold, they are a series of traditional cold cut Coronan meet sir, and are a traditional dish of our kingdom which is why they aren't matched to your specifications I expect." The feeling of victory had masked whatever shame had come before it and I continued, "However, I will gladly exchange it for something matching your expectations if you so desire." I curtsied, turning to leave the hall with his tray, but not before I got a look of his face. All the previous anger had drained from his expression as well as his color as he paled in embarrassment in front of the multitude of guests that had witnessed his tantrum. Heading back to the kitchens, I finally allowed the tension to drain from my shoulders. What kind of self-centered aggrandizing man visited a kingdom without bothering to learn anything about their culture. What kind of lord was this man? Who put so much value into appearances and refused to base himself on anything of true substance? Regardless, I felt proud, I had stood up for myself and my Kingdom and at the end that is what mattered. Somehow, I had survived my first day.  
When the day had finally come to a close, and all the servants were dismissed to return to their quarters a breathed a heavy sigh of relief. I knew my actions of today were sure to have consequences. I was a servant after all, and a servant was certainly not supposed to talk back to foreign lords. Somehow though, I could not find it within myself to be at all sorry. A man like that deserved to feel shame at some point in his life, maybe he'll learn something I thought to myself with a smile. The journey to my room seemed to drag forever, the hallways stretching impossibly long, opening my door to my room felt better than I could have possibly imagined. Finally, I could rest, gravity pulled me toward the ground with every step as I struggled to keep my body in motion. SInking onto my bed felt like heaven, and I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. The day had passed in a blur, and now night had finally settled onto the kingdom of Corona. The forever bustling town was now quiet and sleepy, the streets empty until the next dawn. I had opened my window, and the cool night air blew gently into my room, bringing with it the sharp scent of grass and lavender. Snuggled beneath the blankets in my bedclothes, I longed to slowly drift into sleep. Then something exploded.  
The room rattled around me as a cascading boom echoed through the palace. My eyes shot open, and though my body longed for sleep I forced myself to slowly rise from my warm bed and investigate. Whatever was going on, I couldn't have been the only one to hear it and wonder, right? I shivered, the cavernous halls of the palace were utterly dark and empty at this time of the night except for the occasional lone silhouette of a guard. I approached the soldier standing at the end of the passage.  
"Excuse me?" I asked, my voice rough even to my ears. "What was that explosion a few moments earlier?" The guard slowly turned to me, the exhaustion and irritation on his face making me take a step back. The guard groaned, dragging a hand across his face as he mumbled something lowly to himself.  
"You new here?" he asked. I nodded and he sighed again. "It's just Varian, he's the palace Alchemist. He's constantly experimenting and creating all kinds of noise, you'll get used to it eventually trust me." At this he turned away, clearly expecting this irritating distraction to be over. I pondered this for a moment. A royal alchemist? What did that even mean, and regardless of whatever insanity was considered to be normal around here shouldn't someone be concerned after an explosion?  
"Where is this royal alchemist?" I asked the guard and he silently pointed down the adjacent hallway, well it was mostly silent after another sigh. I rolled my eyes if all guards were this melancholy and dull my life at the palace was looking to be more boring than ever. Goosebumps radiated down my arms, the sharp chill of the corridors making me shiver. The hall was illuminated by only the occasional torch and left mostly to be wreathed in shadow. With every step, I felt as though some unknown enemy lurked just behind, waiting to pounce from the shadows. The soft echo of my footsteps was the only sound now in the empty palace halls. I longed for the familiar presence of the guards, but this hall was strangely empty. The only people here were me, and the mysterious alchemist. With every passing moment, the decision to investigate seemed more rash and more moronic. Who was I to question this when even the palace guard seemed unconcerned? My breath quickened as I reached the door at the end of the hallway, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my chest. The door was heavily bolted, reinforced with bands of steel, I reached toward the handle, only to flinch back as glowing lights began to shimmer from behind it. The colors swirled in mysterious patterns, slowly growing in intensity until they hurt to look at. I shielded my eyes from the blinding glow and gripped the handle, wrenching open the heavy door.


	2. Chapter 2

The door flew open with a blinding flash, leaving me stumbling and frantically rubbing my eyes to try and restore some of my eyesight. I blinked rapidly, trying to get my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of the room in front of me. I furrowed my brow as the shadows of the room began to solidify into recognizable shapes. Inside seemed to be some kind of laboratory, intrigued by the mysterious room, I took a small step inside. The room was littered with various tables and shelves but seemed to be in a frantic state of disarray, like whoever this alchemist was had been frantically looking for something. I approached the table closest to the door, it was covered with a series of large books and mysterious vials filled with bubbling liquid. The room itself was filled with many odd concoctions that bubbled over low flames, shimmered with a strange glow, or were colored so brightly they hurt to look at. I shivered, the room wasn't cold, but its abandonment and state of chaos made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. If this was the lab of this royal alchemist, where were they?   
Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a low and shimmering mist began to spread across the floor. Soon it had filled the entire room, and I was left practically blind in an abandoned lab surrounded by odd and probably dangerous mixtures. The shimmering fog left an oddly sweet taste on my tongue as I breathed it in, taking a small breath, I wrapped my arms around myself and began to slowly wade further into the lab. It wasn't long before I had knocked over a stack of books, hit my shin on various tables, and nearly spilled at least 5 beakers that fizzed suspiciously. Suddenly, a muffled noise wreathed through the fog, a voice! I frantically worked my way toward it, catching snippets of sound as the owner of the voice seemed to be casually talking with themself.  
"A few more drops of Mercury...Maybe a higher heat? No no no, that's not right..." Slowly, the mist seemed to fade before me, revealing the obscure silhouette of the supposed royal alchemist outlined by a confusing miasma of neon light. Every part of me was on edge, I slowly made my way toward them, each step making me tenser and tenser. Finally, I stood behind them, I reached out a hand and felt the fur of some large rodent brush past my ankle. I shrieked, jumping high into the air, knocking into one of the tables and hearing the crash as a series of beakers broke on the floor. The figure screamed too, whatever they were working on exploding in a burst of purple powder.  
I scrambled to my feet, the rush of adrenaline making my hands shake and my legs knock together.  
"Hello?" I called, my voice shaking. "Are you okay?' A hand grabbed my shoulder, causing me to scream again and swing around, frantically punching into the air. My hand connected with something and was quickly followed by a high and surprised.  
"Ow! Hey!" My breath coming fast, I was finally able to take in the person in front of me. He was about my height and age, a vivid blue streak in his black hair which had been blasted into a ridiculous position by the explosion, his eyes were a bright electric blue. I looked him up and down, he was completely covered in purple, from his apron filled with vials to the leather gloves that covered his hands. He was looking at me surprised as he gently rubbed his stomach. Realization slowly dawned on me.  
"oh, OH! Oh my goodness I am so sorry!" I said, putting my hands on his shoulders I began to closely examine him to see if he was hurt. "I am so so sorry, I just heard an explosion and, you know, I was a little concerned. And then I saw your lab and it was so messy, not to be rude of course, and I couldn't find anyone and I was surrounded by all those weird liquids. And then that fog came out of nowhere and I couldn't see anything and uh..." I trailed off as I realized that I was completely ranting and manhandling this poor guy who had no idea who I was. I jumped back, trying to restore some of my dignity. "I am so sorry" I repeated. I fixed my gaze to the floor, embarrassed.  
"Hi," he said cheerfully."I'm Varian"  
"Y/N," I replied. "Nice to meet you."  
He cracked a smile, revealing buck teeth. I couldn't help but smile back. Whatever I expected the royal alchemist to be, it was not a cute boy my age.  
"Besides, he continued," walking back to the table."If I was to start judging people on the number of times they blew something up I might have to start keeping track of my explosions." I laughed a bit at that if explosions were so regular around here that even the guards didn't care, I was sure that number would be absolutely ridiculous. I followed him slowly, examing the remainder of his work. It wasn't much, whatever beakers and vials had been on the table were now broken and scattered about, strange instruments and measuring tools had been bent into odd shapes, probably utterly useless now. I winced, shame tugging again at my stomach, leave it up to me to completely destroy his work within a minute of meeting him.  
"So...Alchemy, what exactly were you working on?" I peered over his shoulder, he turned to me quickly the excitement making his entire face light up.  
"Really? You're interested in what I'm working on?" My smile stretched a little wider as I nodded eagerly, taking a seat on a nearby stool. "Well Rapunzel came to me and asked me to look into the recent trouble the villagers had been having with a new strain of grain disease. Apparently, it has been severely impacting the yield of our crops and if we don't fix it soon it could pose a serious threat to their livelihood." I nodded my brain processing this information, I hadn't heard anything about grain disease but that didn't mean much coming from me.  
"But why the explosion? I wouldn't think working to cure grain disease would end up with a lot of combustible behavior." At this, his face turned red and he started to avoid my gaze.  
"Well," he started sheepishly. "I was also working on a series of smoke bombs." The silence stretched for a moment before I couldn't help it. I started laughing. It started small but before I knew it my sides were aching and tears were threatening to spill out of my eyes. Breathlessly I began,  
"I'm sorry," I started, interrupted by another bout of laughter. "But the look on your face!" As I was lost to another fit I heard him start to laugh too and soon we were both left out of breath.   
I wiped the moisture from my eyes and tried to compose myself. Varian was red-faced and hugging his sides, a huge smile making his face glow with happiness. I took a deep breath and suddenly became aware that I was standing in a lab in my nightclothes in the middle of the night with a very cute boy that I knew almost nothing about. A yawn suddenly broke my train of thought and I realized that I was utterly and completely exhausted.  
"You should probably get to bed," Varian said with sympathy. He looked at me with his head tilted to the side, as though he was studying me. He caught me looking and quickly turned back to his work. I smirked slightly and nodded slowly, knowing I would already be regretting staying up this late in the morning. I stood up, stretched out my tired limbs and began to make my way back to the door. I was about to exit when I turned back.  
"Hey, Varian? Can I come and visit you tomorrow?" I nervously twisted my hands waiting for his response.  
"Really? Yeah, of course, I would love the company," He called excitedly. And if my face was red, and he stuttered a bit, I chalked it up to the long day and odd abundance of explosions.  
This time the walk back to my room seemed to take no time at all and before I knew it I was standing outside my door. I entered my room and gingerly closed the door behind me and taking a deep breath, leaned my forehead against the cool wood. My brain throbbed and every one of my limbs felt as though it was being weighed down by concrete. When I finally fell back into my bed it felt even better than heaven, I sighed trying to sink even deeper into the bed. I wrapped myself in blankets and allowed my mind to leisurely wander from thought to thought. Whatever I had expected from my first day at the palace, this was certainly not it. A smile stretched across my face, somehow it was even better then I had ever imagined.  
Finally, I sank peacefully into the restful world of sleep, the calming black welcoming me with open arms. My dreams presented themselves in flashes, a burst of color here, a buck-toothed smile, electric eyes sparkling with excitement. The angry lord being sent back to his land in shame, head hung low. The image suddenly shifted and I was face to face with a golden shimmering light. I squinted, trying to find the source of the mysterious glow. The light condensed and solidified into a flower, then exploded outward and reshaped itself into, into...the princess? She slowly turned to face me, her golden hair flying around her glowing with power, her eyes were shimmering gold. Spires of black rock shot up from the ground around her, the spires started working their way toward me. I stumbled back, trying to make some distance between me and the princess, something was wrong. I tripped, landing on my back facing her, the rocks shot closer and closer. I screamed, covering my face with my hands in some vain attempt to protect myself. I felt a piercing pain through my abdomen, I looked down and saw a dark stain slowly spreading from my stomach, the dark liquid dripped onto the ground around me, it flooded outwards and soon I was surrounded by nothing but black choking liquid. I swam frantically, trying to find the surface, some air to breath, I breathed in a mouthful of the liquid. I started choking as it filled my lungs, trying desperately to find something to indicate where the surface was. As my vision slowly started to fade to black, I realized I was still being watched from the depths by a pair of glowing golden eyes, it felt like they were laughing at me. I struggled toward them, but the fight had finally drained from me and I succumbed to the incoming darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the second part so far! I'll be sure to update soon when the inspiration hits me. Thank you so much for reading and please let me know if there's anything I could work on!


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up suddenly in a cold sweat, my sheets tangled and sticking to me like a second skin I couldn't shed. I frantically tore them away from me, my whole body shook with adrenaline my breaths coming short and fast. Every breath of air felt like being saved, taking me further and further from the cold depths of my subconsciousness that threatened to pull me under.   
I staggered to the small mirror in the corner, desperate for some proof that I was here. My reflection was waiting for me, frantic and panicked she stared back at me, her eyes were bloodshot, her hair tangled around her. Slowly, I brought my hand to my face, the reliable sensation of my skin soothed my frayed nerves. I sank to the floor, hugging my knees to my chest.   
It wasn't until the salty taste of my tears entered my gasping mouth that I realized I was crying, it welled up slowly until I was shaking with the force of my sobs. I tried to console myself, it was only a dream, you're okay. It's okay to feel scared, all nightmares feel vivid and real, I reminded myself. It took a while for me to able to get to my feet and when I did it felt as though my insides had been scraped out with a sharp spoon. I wandered to my closet, feeling lost like a ghost haunting my room.  
I flung open the doors and was immediately hit with the sharp scent of citrus and ginger. I held onto that scent desperately, finally finding some reminder of myself. I dug through my meager possessions, I knew I was looking for something specific but I wasn't sure what it was until my fingers glided over the silky smooth fabric.   
I pulled the scrap of fabric out gently, carefully clutching it in my hands and pressing it to my chest.  
It was a bright orange-yellow, holding it reminded me of spring and buttercups. Carefully I held it up to my face and breathed in, a smile spread across my face. I had been the last gift from my mother before I left for Corona, it smelled like home. Taking a final breath, I settled my shoulders and straightened my spine. I could do this I told myself as I wrapped the fabric around my hair.   
I wreathed myself in bright colors that morning, knowing that to lift my spirits it was important to surround yourself with tokens of happiness. I was surprised when I looked out my window and found the sun just rising above the sea surrounding the kingdom. I was up early, much before I was due for my first duties of the day. I decided that wandering the palace halls would help rid me of the final traces of my nightmare.   
Stepping out of the room into the barely illuminated palace hallways was like stepping into a whole new world, the hallways glimmered gold with the rising sun. I smiled as I wandered, the palace was entirely new this way. Bright and glowing, it was as though I was seeing everything for the first time. I began to hum softly to myself, the thoughts of my home had reminded me of an old song my mother had once sung. The words had long faded in my memory, but the soft and lilting melody seemed to have stood the test of time. I closed my eyes, twirling in the golden light of the rising sun as the melody echoed back to me from the palace corridors. I opened my eyes directly into the bright green eyes of the princess.   
I jumped back quickly, taking all of my willpower to not scream on the spot. What was it with me and surprises recently, was the palace always like this?  
"Your highness!" I cried. "I didn't see you there!" I remembered myself quickly, stumbling into a low curtsy. "Pardon me, your majesty, I didn't mean to disturb you," I said, gazing intently at the floor. My cheeks felt hot, leave it up to me to be caught acting like a fool around the princess no less!   
"No no, of course, you didn't disturb me!" she replied eagerly, her cheerfulness at this time of the morning was unbelievable even after everything I'd heard. "Oh and please just call me Rapunzel." She added with an eager grin.   
I rose slowly from my curtsy, my knees aching. I held my hands clasped in front of me and made sure to keep my gaze on the oh so interesting tiling of the hall.   
"Pardon me majesty, but I don't think-" I was abruptly cut off she eagerly grabbed my hand and started pulling me along the hall.   
"No, really I insist!" She called. "Would you mind coming with me for a moment? I think I know someone who would be very eager to meet you." I was left speechless as I was dragged along, my mind race a mile a minute as I searched through everything I had done.   
Was I in trouble for talking to the lord? Or had they somehow found out about me visiting Varian? He hadn't told on me, had he? Why would he do that?  
Soon Rapunzel was pushing me through a door and I was being led through a dark room. Dimly I registered that something seemed familiar, it wasn't until I was forced into a stool that I registered where she had taken me.   
"Ta-da! Welcome to the royal labs!" She spread her arms around her in a grand gesture, highlighting the room I had stared at with wonder mere hours before.  
A loud crash distracted me from my wonder as Varian rolled into the room. He landed flat on his back in front of me, his eyes fluttering open to connect with my own.   
"Y/N! Hi!" He cried, an electric smile lighting up his entire face as he jumped to his feet. "I mean, uh hey, how's it going," He tried to adjust himself, starting to lean on the table next to him before it tipped awkwardly and nearly spilled the vials that were balanced precariously on top of it. I couldn't help but giggle as he lunged onto the table, reaching to grab the vials before they tumbled onto the ground. He looked back to me, letting out a nervous laugh.   
Rapunzel cleared her throat, shooting Varian a look I couldn't decipher before walking up to me.  
"Oh, so you two have met, that's great!" She looked at me expectantly, I resisted the urge to laugh nervously.   
"I'm sorry princess, but I think you may have the wrong handmaiden," I said softly as I started to rise from the stool.   
"No no no no, I am POSITIVE that you are exactly what we're looking for," she replied as she pushed me once again into the stool. "That melody you were singing, where did you learn that song?' Something in the way she asked the question made me feel like my answer was very very important.   
"My mother," I said, still confused. "She used to sing it to me when I was a baby." Something flashed across her face, but it was gone before I could catch it. She looked at Varian expectantly, though whatever connection she had hoped to make was lost on him. We both gazed at her confused as she sighed, exasperated.   
"It's the same tune, Varian! The same song, she obviously has some connection right?" Realization slowly dawned across his face, and soon he was just as excited as Rapunzel.   
"The same song, as in THE song?" he asked excitedly, practically bouncing with the energy. Rapunzel frantically nodded, grabbing Varian's shoulders as she bounced up and down.   
The two started talking excitedly, fueling the other's energy until I was a little worried they would hurt themselves from the excitement. My mind spun, I had no idea what they were talking about. I stood suddenly, the two of them turning to face me as I did.   
"I don't know why you think I'm so important, but you've got the wrong girl," I stated as I started to make my way to the door. Whatever it was they were doing, they could do it without my help. Besides, I had a job to do.   
"Wait, Y/N!" cried Varian. He ran up behind me and grabbed my arm. I turned quickly, and he let go of my arm looking sheepish. "Look, I'm sorry we haven't explained anything yet. But trust us, you're connected to something very important." The earnest look in his eyes made me pause. I sighed, walking past him to sit back down on the stool.   
"Fine, but you both better explain what is happening right now," I channeled my most authoritative and disappointed voice. I laughed a bit internally, I sounded like my mother.   
They rushed in front of me, the story they shared was long and confusing. Filled with strange magic, "It's science," corrected Varian. Supposedly my mother's song held the same tune as an ancient magical incantation. Even thinking that sentence had me wanting to break out into mad laughter. They looked at me expectant, twin pairs of excitement. I was still skeptical.   
"So, the song I was singing shares the same tune as the magic song that makes your hair glow?" I repeated slowly, they both nodded quickly. "I don't know...It doesn't seem like that strong of a connection to me. Melodies get recreated all the time, for all I know it could just be something my Mom made up." They seemed to deflate a little, and I immediately felt guilty.   
"No," said Rapunzel firmly. "It has to mean something, you were called here for a reason, I can feel it." She grabbed my hands. I felt like I was staring directly at the sun, her intense gaze made me squirm in my seat. Suddenly Varian came up beside her, resting a gloved hand on my shoulder.   
"Y/N, you could be the key to solving one of the most complicated scientific mysteries of the century," he said earnestly. I tried to avoid their twin gazes, tried to remember why this was ridiculous and didn't make any sense. I knew my will wouldn't last.   
"Ok," I finally breathed out. "Ok, I'll try my best to help." I was immediately surrounded by excited screaming and wrapped in a hug so tight it made it hard to breathe.   
"Rapunzel!" I said breathlessly. "I can't breathe!" She released me, her face glowing with excitement and happiness.   
"Oh Y/N this is going to be amazing!" she cried, twirling around. I laughed, her joy was infectious.   
"If you say so," I said skeptically. "But even if there is a connection, I don't think I will be able to help much." They dismissed my doubt quickly, batting it away easily in the face of their joy.   
"I'm so glad you're going to be joining our team," said Varian his smile wide and eyes sparkling. I fought to contain my blush, smiling bashfully. I gave an awkward thumbs up, unsure of what to say. The realization hit me.   
"Oh my gosh." I said in growing horror." I'm late! Oh, I'm so late, they're going to kill me!" I jumped up frantically, rushing to the door. "Oh, I'm going to get fired for this, especially after everything with the lord!" I raced through the door, ignoring the shouts from the princess and Varian.  
The corridors passed in a frantic blur as I ran through the halls. The sun was way past the horizon now, adrenaline rushed through me as I finally burst through the doors of the kitchen. My breaths came fast as I panted, clutching my sides. Someone cleared their throat loudly in front of me, and I slowly raised my gaze. Panic wrapped around my heart as my eyes settled on the sneering face of the Lord from the banquet. His eyes glinted with cruel satisfaction as they settled on my cowering form.


	4. Chapter 4

I looked up at the lord in shock, my mouth hanging open. I righted myself and sank into a low curtsy, my mind racing. My heart beat frantically in my chest, my stomach tied into knots. A weight settled on my shoulders, dragging me down to the floor. A set of loud footsteps approached me slowly, settling next to the lord. Cautiously, I raised my gaze to look upon the troubled face of the cook. I felt like I was about to cry.  
The Lord sneered in distaste at me, waving his hand dismissively to indicate I could stand straight. I stood slowly, trying to make myself as small as possible. The cook shifted uncomfortably, the guilt on her face made everything crystal clear.  
"So, Y/N," she started. "Do to a...change of circumstances," she sent a pointed and angry look towards the Lord. "I'm afraid we're going to have to let you go. You'll have until the end of the day to pack up your things and leave the palace." She looked at me apologetically. I offered her a small smile to show I knew there was nothing she could do. The Lord laughed, the smirk on his face made the urge to punch him in his smug face nearly impossible to ignore. Nearly.  
I sank into another curtsy, turning back to the door. I don't know what I expected, handmaidens weren't allowed to talk to those in power. I sighed, it wasn't as if I was meant for this line of work anyway, my first day was an obvious example of that. Despite all of my mental placating, the hot slide of tears down my face was no surprise. My throat started to constrict as I clutched my stomach, the walk to my room passing in a depressing blur.  
The guards looked at me with sympathy in their eyes, the knew, of course they knew. The princess and Varian must have been playing some cruel prank, a last laugh at the naive and stupid handmaiden. The thought only made my tears flow faster. I raced to my room, slamming the door behind me and finally releasing a pent up sob. I was dumb to think I could ever belong here.  
The golden sunlight shining into my room felt like it was mocking me, and I closed the drapes with a grumble. No use wasting time, I wanted to get out of the palace and as far away from Corona as possible. I took a deep shuddering breath, settling my shoulders and reminding myself that tears would get me nowhere now. I wiped the last of the tears from my face and set my grief and sadness aside.  
Packing wasn't hard, the few possessions I owned were still in the bag I brought them in. I changed out of my uniform into my regular clothes. The feeling of returning to my old self was bittersweet but I placed a smile on my face anyway, no use in making others sad for my misfortune. I took a last look at the small room that I had hoped so recently my become my new home and shut the door behind me. I ignored the stabbing pain of loss as it entered my stomach and continued on, there were a few things I wanted to do before I officially said goodbye to Corona.  
Despite everything, I felt an excited smile grow across my face and a bounce enter my step as I got closer and closer to my destination. The tall oak door was huge, reaching nearly to the vaulted ceilings of the palace. A spark of energy flowed through me as I released a giddy laugh, this would be incredible. Slowly, I struggled to push open the heavy doors grunting with the effort as it finally swung open to reveal my personal heaven.  
The door led to a huge remote tower that had been filled top to bottom with books and was renowned as one of the largest and most comprehensive libraries in all of the seven kingdoms. I leaned my head back, lovingly gazing at the rows and rows of shelves that stretched as far as the eye could see. I know I didn't have enough time to properly peruse the books, but I spent a few moments walking the length of the room while letting my fingers delicately graze the spines. I sighed happily, satisfied in knowing that I at least had the opportunity to be in the presence of such knowledge.  
I took a deep breath through my knows, the warm scent of paper and leather carried me through the halls as I made my way to my final destination. Slipping through one of the many side entrances, the warm sun shone onto my face in what felt like the first time in eternity. The grounds were meticulously kept, nothing but well-trimmed bushes and close-cropped grass. I eyed them with a raised brow, for a kingdom that had been saved by a flower they didn't seem to have much respect for natural biodiversity.  
The paths were painstakingly swept, I would know it was one of the many tasks I had somehow managed to mess up yesterday. I decided to take the long way around the palace, trying to memorize every inch I could. I wanted to remember every moment I could here, after all, memories were the bast company on the long road of travel. Well, aside from actual company, I thought with a laugh. I turned a corner and with a gasp, the greenhouse came into view.  
My heart nearly broke in two just looking at it. The building itself had been horribly neglected, huge panels of glass being broken or completely missing. I raced up to the door clutching my chest, the plants inside were overgrown and wild. I pressed my hand to the glass, wishing I could fix this once gorgeous building. I eyed the lock on the door with disdain, even with the knowledge I could easily enter if I wanted to, my rational side reminded me that breaking into the royal greenhouse after just being fired wasn't one of my best ideas.  
I grumbled to myself, resolving to write a letter complaining about the awful state of their facilities. Well, I thought, turning back toward the palace gates, this is it. I settled back into the old rhythm of travel, my mind running through the motions as I began my journey to whatever life would see fit to throw at me next. The village passed in a blur, the kindly citizens caught up in their wonderful Idyllic lives. I couldn't help but smile as I watched a group of kids clamor at the window of a brightly painted sweet shop.  
I weaved through the crowds, enjoying the natural chaos of civilization, something told me it would be a while before I got to experience this again. The trip through Corona went by much too quickly, the busy marketplace and homes soon all were behind me. I looked out across the bridge, the forest awaited me dark and mysterious as the sea glittered as though it were made of diamonds. I craned my head towards the sun and closed my eyes, letting the warmth soak into my skin as the cool ocean breeze lifted my hair behind me.  
I was about halfway across the bridge when a commotion from behind me broke me from my moment of peace. I sighed, irritated at the sudden interruption. I glanced over my shoulder and nearly fell over when I saw the princess, the infamous Flynn Rider, a very intimidating lady in waiting, and Varian racing towards me. My shock was soon replaced by bitterness, they'd had their fun, why couldn't they just leave me alone?  
The group stopped in front of me panting, had they ran the entire way from the palace?  
"Y/N," the princess gasped. "Please wait." She looked at me desperately, but I refused to be made fun of anymore.  
"I'm sorry your highness," a look of hurt flashed across her face as I resorted back to using her title. "But I have been officially released as a handmaiden of the palace as of this morning. A fact I'm sure you already knew." I turned quickly, resolving to leave right now.  
"Y/N!" she called grabbing my arm. "I promise I had no idea." She looked at me pleadingly, practically begging me to believe her.  
"I'm sorry princess, but I'm tired of being made fun of and lied to. I'm sure you all had a big laugh about your little story earlier, but I'm done," my voice broke at the end. This is stupid, I thought to myself, why should their approval matter to you? You hardly know them.  
"Everything we told you was the truth," Varian added earnestly. I looked at everyone in the group, they all looked so desperate. My resolve crumbled slightly, but how could she not have known? She was the princess of Corona!  
"Look," I started, avoiding their gaze. "Even if I wanted to help you, I can't. I don't work there anymore and I can't afford to live in the village." I looked up at them, cracking a half-hearted smile. "I wish you the best, your highness...with everything." I turned back to the forest, trying to ignore the threat of tears behind my eyes.  
"Y/N wait!" Varian desperately cried. I turned back slowly. "What if we could get you another job inside the palace?"  
I scoffed. "Oh please, they would never rehire me after what happened. The lord would see it as a personal insult!" I laughed, cradling my arms to my chest. I wasn't stupid, I knew why they had to fire me. Corona was desperate to better their relations with the other kingdoms after the recent uptick in crime and the return of their precious princess, I had jeopardized that.  
"Not as a handmaiden, you wouldn't have to deal with foreign relations at all," Varian continued, trying to find some way to convince me. I couldn't help but smile.  
"Varian," I said softly, he looked at me surprised, momentarily broken from his racing thoughts. "It's not me you would have to convince, I would love to stay in Corona," I admitted with a smile. I motioned toward the princess. "It would be the royals you have to convince," I added with a grim frown, my eyes furrowing.  
The moment was tense and grim, until Flynn, Eugene? Interrupted it.  
"Oh! Fantastic! Let's just try to convince the most terrifying man I know to rehire someone in blatant disregard of foreign relations! Not to mention we can even tell him why we want you rehired so bad because it's due to a subject we were expressly forbidden to discuss! Perfect!" He threw up his hands in a huff. Rapunzel rolled her eyes at him a happy smile stretching across her face. The lady in waiting rolled her eyes.  
"Look Raps," she started, taking the princess's shoulders. "I know this is important and you believe she has some connection with what happened to you, but I don't think this is the best idea." Rapunzel looked grim, her brows furrowing as she thought. I stepped forward toward the two.  
"I agree princess, this isn't worth it," I smiled again. I took a deep breath, preparing to start my journey.  
"Y/N, just give us some time, please?" asked Varian, his eyes begging me. I groaned, closing my eyes as I covered my face with my hand. I peeked through my fingers, three pairs of eyes stared back with desperation.  
"Fine!" I exclaimed as I caved in, to their excitement. "They said I had to be out of Corona by the end of the day, so you have that much time to somehow get me re-hired," I stated firmly, trying in vain to hide my flattered smile. They cheered, Rapunzel, Varian, and Eugene raced off to the palace in an excited bundle. I was left in the middle of the bridge with the lady in waiting.  
"Cassandra," she stated while offering me a hand to shake. I took it, smiling gratefully.  
"Y/N," I replied, "But you probably already knew that." She shrugged her shoulders with a smile. We walked back to the palace in comfortable silence for a while. "So, Cassandra," I started. "I know the Pri- that Rapunzel believes I have some connection to, well, everything that happened somehow. But, I don't see how I could be connected to this through some simple song, I'm not even from Corona!" I said, throwing my hands in the air. She looked amused and I took a moment to rearrange my thoughts. "What I mean is, what do you think?" For a moment she looked surprised, but then she just looked grateful.  
She walked in silence for a few moments, clearly giving my question a lot of thought, which I appreciated.  
"I think that the chances of someone entering the palace, who knows the song that activates Rapunzels hair shortly after it magically grows back can't be a coincidence. But, coincidence or not, whether you can help us is something that I think will be entirely up to you regardless of magical healing songs." I sighed as we reentered the courtyard of the palace, it looming over our heads.  
"Thank you, Cassandra, I needed to hear that." She nodded with a smile and headed back into the palace. I squared my shoulders and strode through the tall archway confidently after her, determined that my purpose was in Corona and I would find some way to fulfill it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is a little longer than some of the others. I have some big plans coming up guys, there will be a lot more character interaction after we get through the first major bits of plot advancement, promise. Please please please let me know what you think! I'm always looking to improve so any suggestions are greatly appreciated, thank you so much for reading!!!


	5. Chapter 5

Wandering through the towering halls of the palace made me feel like an imposter. It was a strange feeling, it felt wrong to not be in uniform, to only be myself and not a handmaiden. The bustle of servants and guards didn't help matters, I felt as though somehow they must know I wasn't supposed to be there. I was tempted to sneak back into my room, but something told me that returning to the one place I had briefly claimed as my own wouldn't be the best I idea after being fired.  
I had no idea where Rapunzel and Varian had run off to in their excitement to prove my case, Cassandra had duties to attend to, and I honestly had no clue what Eugene did to occupy his time in the palace. I was left walking through the halls aimlessly, gazing at the portraits of rulers past and the various artifacts they held on display. I smiled when I passed Rapunzel's, her art was distinctive and it was clear how much love had been put into the portrait of her and her mother.  
I decided I might as well make use of my time by absorbing as much of the incredible library as possible. I practically skipped toward the tower, excitement rushing through my whole body with a blast of energy. Throwing open the doors felt like being greeted by an old friend as I took a deep breath of the glorious smell of books. I rushed over to one of the chairs in the corner perfectly surrounded by the sun. I sighed as I sank into the comfortable leather and pillows, this was perfect. I let out a giddy laugh as I finally approached one of the shelves, the large leather tomes calling to me.  
I ran my fingers lovingly across their spines, casually inspecting their titles and authors to see if anything caught my interest. I was stopped when I reached a huge book with the title, Famines, and Plagues Throughout The Seven Kingdoms. I remembered Varian's work on the grain disease and carefully removed the book from the shelf. I merely placed it on the table, however, and soon got to work examining the shelves for any topic I thought could be relevant. Soon, a large tower of books stood on the table, I settled myself into a chair and opened the first volume.  
I jumped out of my seat, the day had gone and evening had long begun in the kingdom. Large tomes were laid carefully about me in carefully organized stacks of information, my mind reeled with it all. Before I drew any solid conclusions after my research I had to talk to Varian and Rapunzel. My mind raced, catching on stories and events from hundreds of years ago. Replaying diagrams of fungus and lists upon lists of symptoms.   
I burst through the doors, racing toward Varian's lab as quickly as I could manage. I burst through the door to the lab in a huff, my breath coming in gasps. I was taken aback when I saw Cassandra and Eugene there as well. They all looked sad and deflated, looking at each other with sorrowful understanding. It was strange seeing them all here, contrasting so heavily with the strange atmosphere of the lab. Rapunzel rose from her chair, walking toward me slowly.  
"Y/N," she started, her voice low and miserable. "I am so sorry, but my dad wouldn't listen, we tried everything we could think of but..." she trailed off, looking as though she might cry. I stood there for a moment confused before I remembered, My Job! They were trying to get me rehired, I entirely forgot.  
"Hey Rapunzel," I started, my mind still flying off the walls. "Don't worry about it, honestly I didn't expect much. Anyw-" she cut me off.  
"No!" she cried. " I thought I could help you, but now you're going to have to leave and there's nothing I can do." she looked as though she might cry. I laughed, bringing her into a quick and close hug.  
"Thank you for trying Princess, but that isn't what's most important right now." They all looked at me confused, clearly expecting me to be sad. I laughed again. "Guys, honestly. Now Rapunzel," I said switching to a serious tone as I looked her in the eye. "I'm going to need a sample of the diseased crop and a list of symptoms on if or how it is affecting the citizens who interact with it."  
They stood there stunned, looking at me with confusion. I groaned with frustration, they were all going so slow!  
"When I visited Varian my first night he was working on a cure. I decided to spend my last day in the palace doing some research on the subject to see if I could offer any help. Now would you please listen to me," I said with exasperation.  
All at once, they seemed to move into action. Varian hurried into the other room and Rapunzel began listing off what she knew about it with frequent anecdotes from Cassandra.  
"The citizens who ate bread made from the diseased grain came down with a bad fever, some had convulsions I think and"  
"The symptoms mostly appear in young children and the elderly" added Cassandra. I furrowed my brow, rushing over to an empty blackboard towards the edge of the lab. I grabbed a piece of chalk and began writing notes down hurriedly.  
"When did the diseased crops first begin to appear?" I asked.  
"We first started noticing about 3 months ago," answered Rapunzel.  
"What season is that? I'm not familiar with the seasons in Corona," I added, scrawling more notes.  
"That's in the dryest season of summer." She replied.  
I nodded, connections forming frantically in my brain. Varian rushed into the room, a bundle of wheat in his arms, I grabbed it from him and placed it on a table. I delicately examined the stalks, searching for any odd growths on the plant. I found multiple hardened masses on the stalks themselves, evidence of a parasitic fungus that was nearly ready to release its spores. I jumped up, my mind racing.  
"I need to speak to the king," I stated. "Now."  
We burst into the throne room in a disorganized cluster, falling into each other as we raced through the doors. I stood in front of the king and queen, who looked at me in surprise. I dropped into a curtsy, suddenly reminded of my place.  
"Your Majesties," I started, my voice slightly quivering. "I have some information that I believe would be of use to you." I slowly looked up to meet their gaze, rising to my full height. I cleared my throat, uncertain suddenly of how concrete my research was. I wrung my hands in front of me, nerves making my fingers shake. " The disease that has been plaguing your grain is a parasitic fungus. It thrives in dry climates and came to your kingdom through trade routes with the kingdom of Bayangor. The disease itself is not harmful unless consumed through bread or other means." I finished my statement, casting my eyes back down to the floor.  
"Who are you?" asked King Frederic, his deep booming voice making me want to run and hide.  
"Dad," said Rapunzel, walking up to me and grabbing my shoulders. "This is Y/N, the handmaiden I wanted to rehire." I looked up slowly, meeting the eyes of the king and queen.  
"I see," started Queen Arianna. "How did you come by all of this information Y/N?" she asked me gently.  
"Well," I stuttered, avoiding their eyes. "I have an interest in Botany and History. And, well, I thought I might as well do some research to see if I could help. This is only the first stages of course," I added hurriedly. "I barely had time this afternoon to read all the necessary materials and-" The king raised a hand, cutting off my frantic line of speech.  
"You mean to tell me," he started, his fierce glare piercing into me. "That you were able to obtain all of this information just this afternoon?" I nodded, arms clutching my sides as I sank into myself, trying to be as small as possible. He nodded thoughtfully, one hand reaching up to scratch at his beard. We all waited in tense silence, looking for some sign of a decision from the king. He sighed finally, rubbing his hand along his face.  
"Rapunzel," he started. "What was the position you were looking to hire her as again?" Rapunzel nearly toppled me over with how fiercely she began to hug me. I laughed, awkwardly patting her side.  
" As my research assistant," said Varian softly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Though it seems she could also fulfill the role of the royal Botanist, your majesty," he added with a shy smile in my direction. A royal botanist? Me? I thought of that beautiful greenhouse finally being restored, filled with plants I could carefully monitor with all the best materials. A giddy smile grew across my face.  
"Very well," the king relented, letting a warm smile cross his face as Rapunzel jumped into his arms. He chuckled wrapping his arms lovingly around his daughter. I couldn't help but smile at them. Suddenly I was being crushed in a hug myself as Varian practically tackled me to the floor, I laughed as I returned the embrace. Soon I was surrounded completely, wrapped in a series of bone-crushing hugs.   
I laughed, surrounded by warmth and happiness for the first time that I could remember. The group hug slowly broke apart and I was now in the middle of a circle of new friends that had just managed to get me back into my dream job. I would not cry. I would not cry. I would not cry. The tears were already flowing down my cheeks as I repeated the mantra in my head. Their excited smiles quickly turned into confused frowns as they noticed my tears.  
"They're happy tears I promise," I said while still laughing, they still looked concerned so I continued. "Its just been a while, since I've felt this happy," I admitted with a small hiccup. They all beamed at me and I couldn't help but return the bright smile.   
We all walked to the lab, they offered me congratulations and thanks. It was a while before the quiet finally returned as they left to return to their respective duties. Then it was just me and Varian in his or our lab now, the thought left a smile on my face. He walked over shyly, sitting next to me with a nervous look on his face.  
"What you did back there," he started, looking away from me. "That was brilliant!" he exclaimed, his eyes sparkling as they looked at me with admiration. "You just stood in front of the king and totally proved yourself! And all the research and everything you discovered, that was amazing! How did you do that," He finished, searching my face for some sort of answer.  
"I don't know," I admitted after a moment. "I just knew that whether or not they would let me stay, I had to do something," I looked over at him bashful, cracking an awkward smile. "I guess that's pretty silly, huh?" I finished.  
"No no!" he said jumping up. "That's amazing!" I giggled my face flushing red. The silence stretched on for a moment, neither of us knowing what to say.  
"So," I started awkwardly. "I'm your assistant now." He flushed red, stuttering over his words frantically.  
"Yeah! I mean, unless that is. Unless you don't want to, of course, I completely understand if you just want to focus on botany and stuff. I mean, I would love to have you as my assistant obviously, that would be awesome! But-" I laughed, cutting off his defensive rant.  
"Varian," I said softly, my face flushing even darker. "I would love to be your assistant." He stopped in his tracks, a nervous laugh squeaking out of his throat.  
"Cool, awesome! Uh, yeah. That's great," He admitted with a buck-toothed smile. I returned it, looking around at the lab.  
Something inside of me said that I could learn to accept this place as my new home. It felt right, from the people to me finally finding my purpose. I would find my destiny here, I felt it to the core of my being. Here's where I belonged.


	6. Chapter 6

Waking up the next morning, to the chirping of birds to the golden sunlight shining into my room, felt like returning to reality. Had any of yesterday truly happened? Would I walk through the halls only to get scolded by the cook for being late to my duties? None of it felt real, how had I talked to the king when I could hardly talk to a shopkeeper without stuttering?  
The walk to Varian's lab felt entirely foreign, any moment I expected someone to jump out and yell at me for not being where I was supposed to. But nothing happened. I stood outside the door for an embarrassingly long time, hesitating to open it for fear of, what? I wasn't sure. I mentally scolded myself, rolling my eyes as I finally pushed the door open.  
A thick cloud of vapor flowed out of the door to greet me, its sharp smell left me coughing as I began entering the lab with my arm over my mouth.   
"Varian?" I called into the cloud, coughing into the crook of my arm. I received no answer as I ventured further into the obscuring fog. It was impossible to see anything beyond the thick white mist, it completely coated the room.  
I found myself bumping into various tables and chairs as I tried to navigate the room, my already terrible sense of direction made even worse. I finally made it into the back room, finding Varian with his head out of the window taking gulping breaths of air.  
"Oh, hey Y/N," he said, face flushing with embarrassment. "Everything's fine, just trying out some new stuff and, well..." he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. I looked around the clouded room, the fog showed no signs of dissipating any time soon. I sighed, a fond smile on my face as I shook my head.  
"Come on," I said grabbing his arm as I headed toward the door. He stuttered behind me, trying to form a coherent sentence in his surprise.  
"Whoa, Hey! Y/N! I have work to do come on!"  
"And how much work can you get done without being able to see?" I called back at him with a smirk. His mouth snapped shut and his face flushed darker.  
I led him through the bustling halls of the castle, releasing his arm after I got some suspicious looks from the guards. Finally, we both stood outside the door of the abandoned greenhouse. I turned back towards him, sticking my arms out excitedly.  
"Ta-da!" I said, smiling. He looked slightly confused as he looked over the dilapidated building.  
"Wow, uh," he started, not knowing what to say. "It's a bit of a fixer-upper isn't it?" he said warily as he eyed some shattered glass that littered the ground. My face fell, I thought he might be a little excited. Couldn't he see that this had the potential to become something great? He caught my hurt look out of the corner of his eye and started backtracking. "But that's the point right? This is something you can put your time and effort into and make it your own," he said rapidly, ending it with a nervous laugh.  
I gave him a small smile and he looked relieved, he cracked a dorky grin and I couldn't help but laugh. I headed toward the door and immediately felt like an idiot when I saw the same hefty lock on the door as last time. I groaned, smacking my forehead, how had I forgotten about the lock? Even as I asked myself the question the answer was already dawning on me. I had been so excited to show Varian, my face flushed at the thought, of course, I forgot.  
"So," I started, turning back to him. " I might have forgotten the giant lock on the door and I also have no idea who would have the key." I avoided his eyes, my face burning. I had dragged him out of his lab for nothing, he must think I was an idiot.  
"Watch this," he said, walking past me with a smirk. He walked up to the lock and took a brightly colored pellet from his pocket. He checked to make sure I was watching and tossed the pellet at the heavy lock. The pellet dissolved and the lock began to completely melt off of the door.  
I felt my mouth open in shock, this is what Varian did with alchemy? I looked over at him and he was beaming with pride. I smiled, impressed.  
"Wow," I whispered reverently. "That was awesome!" giddy energy flowed through me and I hurried to the door, anxious to finally see the inside. The door creaked loudly as it slowly opened, the harsh sound making me cringe.  
The greenhouse was overflowing with luxurious plantlife, previous plants that had been carefully taken care of left to grow wild. Huge clusters of tropical Orchids filled an entire corner of the room, climbing vines with fragrant blooms coated the ceiling, clusters of some unique strain of marigolds swayed lazily in the breeze, weeds and grass covered the floor so completely it was impossible to see through them, invasive ivy coated the walls creeping slowly across the floor, the entire room was filled with life. I sighed happily, this was perfect.  
I carefully entered the greenhouse, Varian following close behind.  
"Isn't it beautiful," I whispered as I tried to memorize every aspect of the room. My heart ached with it all.  
"Yeah," he said quietly. "It really is." I looked over at him and his electric blue eyes were fixed on my face. I couldn't read his expression, but he looked deep in thought.  
"I don't even know where to start," I said laughing, as I began to slowly make my way around the building. My eyes caught on a magnificent pink flower, it's deep green fronds curling around it to almost obscure it from sight. I recognized it instantly. "Varian! Come here!" I called, frantic energy making me rush toward the flower.  
"It's a bleeding heart," I whispered as he crept up next to me. "In some cultures, it was believed to be deadly poisonous, in others, it symbolized doomed love. It's extremely rare." The heart-shaped blossoms covered the entire bush, small pistils emerging giving the appearance of a single drop of blood reading to fall from the flower.  
"Really," he replied. "What does it actually do?"  
"Well," I said, the excitement making me turn toward him. "The roots of the plant, as well as the seed, are in fact very deadly when consumed," I leaned in conspiratorially. "But, it is said the flower itself is an ingredient in one of the most powerful love potions in the world."  
I clasped my hands together, thrilled at the find and the opportunity to spread such interesting information. "Isn't that fascinating?" I sighed happily, trying to dispense some of the energy that ran through my body.  
"Really?" he said, his excitement matching my own. "What are the other ingredients?" he looked at me eagerly, a mad sparkle in his eye.  
"Varian," I said, trying to sound disapproving as I attempted a frown. "You aren't actually thinking of making that love potion, are you? It's incredibly difficult to recreate. Plus, everyone knows that love potions never work out." He looked embarrassed.  
"Yeah, of course, I know that," He paused, then a sly grin spread over his face. "But this could be a great test of the power of alchemy!" he said with a cry, turning to me in excitement. When he saw my unimpressed expression he continued. "Besides, it's not like I have any reasons to use it right?"   
I sighed covering my face with my hands, why could I never say no to him!? He grabbed my hands eagerly, pulling them away from my face.  
"Please Y/N?" he begged with an exaggerated pout. I lasted two seconds.  
"Ugh, fine!" I relented with a groan. "But don't blame me when something goes wrong. Just remember I warned you," I walked off in a huff, Varian doing an excited little happy dance behind me as we walked. It's not like I didn't trust him, but anyone whos read anything about love potions knows how horribly they always go.  
Soon we were standing outside my room, I looked back at Varian who looked like he might just explode from anticipation. "Just wait here," I said quickly as I opened my door.   
I closed the door rapidly, leaning with my back against it as I exhaled heavily. My heart was beating rapidly in my chest, reminding me of the adrenaline pumping through my body. This was an awful idea. Oh well too late now I suppose, there was no way I would be able to tell Varian I'd changed my mind. I grabbed the book with the recipe in it off of my desk and exited my room.  
I was immediately ambushed by Varian.  
"Well, did you get it?" he said, actually jumping up and down with the excitement. I couldn't help but giggle at his childlike behavior, so cute.  
"No, I just found a different book about things people should never try to recreate if they have a brain," I replied sarcastically as we made our way toward the lab.  
From the moment we entered Varian was rushing around the room preparing a table for this new experiment. He grabbed a set of beakers and various other materials, balancing them haphazardly on an already crowded table.  
I rolled my eyes, organizing the materials and clearing the space as quickly as he returned with more equipment. It wasn't long before the table was carefully filled with a variety of contraptions, organized specifically so they, hopefully, wouldn't cause an explosion.  
"Ok, Y/N, I think I got all the ingredients we need, you ready," he looked at me with an infectious grin, his giddy energy rubbing off on me. Despite everything, I had always been curious about what a potion with this amount of power actually looked like. I nodded, clasping my hands together in excitement. He lowered his goggles over his eyes, making him look like some strange insect as he bent over the fizzing beakers.  
It was a slow process, I would slowly read measurements and instructions as Varian carefully followed. The tension slowly building until a knot of stress and antici[nation weighed heavy in my stomach. Varian's forehead was sweating, the room was growing steadily warmer as we progressed, the room itself seemingly changing in hue until everything was tinted pink. I read off the final instruction, leaning over as he added the final ingredient, the bleeding heart.  
The potion turned a violent shade of magenta and began emitting a thick cloud of bubblegum-pink gas. Varian laughed triumphantly, the sound slightly disbelieving even to my ears.  
"I did it! I can't believe I did it!" he cried, lifting his goggles from his eyes. He carefully grabbed the beaker, keeping it a healthy distance from himself. I couldn't help but laugh along with him, this was amazing! We'd managed to recreate something that was hundreds of years old, history itself coming to life! I rushed over to his side, grabbing his shoulder with one hand as I gazed at the beaker in wonder.  
"Wow," I whispered reverently. "This is incredible," a giddy smile grew slowly across my face. "Varian! We did it!" I laughed as I gave his shoulders an excited squeeze.  
"Hey guys," Eugene said in the voice that meant he was about to ask for something ridiculous as he slammed the door open with a huge crash. "I was wondering if you-"  
I jumped at the sudden sound, Varian released an alarming yelp as the fizzing beaker flew out of his hands. I watched in horror as it spun slowly mid-air, the contents shimmering as the cascaded on top of me and Varian.


	7. Chapter 7

The potion crashed over me in a wave of burning heat, the liquid seemed to evaporate immediately, leaving me disconcerted and overheated. I gasped, my eyes fluttering open. My gaze was pulled magnetically to connect with Varian's.  
"Oh," I whispered as an electric jolt shivered through my body. "This is not good," I mumbled, my mind clogged as I fought to remember what could possibly be wrong with this moment. After all, he was here, so nothing could be wrong right? A dopey smile settled onto my face, this was perfect.  
Varian was looking at me, completely transfixed. I sighed, his eyes were so beautiful, why hadn't I noticed that before? His freckles were so cute, I just wanted to look at them all day. His hair looked so soft, I reached my hand out and gently ran my fingers through the silky strands. Varian sighed happily, closing his eyes and leaning into my touch.  
"Uh, guys?" said Eugene from behind us, he sounded confused. "Are you ok? Should I be worried about the potion that just fell all over you guys?" He walked up to us slowly, waving his hand between me and Varian's faces rapidly. I shot him a quick glare, couldn't he see we were having a moment? I sighed, irritated.  
"Don't worry Eugene," I said dreamily as I continued to run my hand through Varian's hair. "It was only a love potion, we're fine," we were better than fine, I never wanted to leave this moment. It was too perfect.  
Eugene rushed out of the room in a hurry, but that was perfectly fine with me. Now it was just me and Varian. He was absolutely beautiful. Varian opened his eyes slowly, looking at me adoringly like I was the only thing that mattered in the universe. My heart was beating rapidly in my chest, his presence was like a drug sending my entire body into overdrive.  
I slowly moved my hand from his hair to gently cup his face, his skin was warm to the touch. As soon as my fingers grazed his skin, he perked up like a flower in fresh water. He gulped, his cheeks flushing a bright red. I felt a magnetic pull, like the reliable weight of gravity, it urged me toward him. Slowly, inch by wonderful inch, until I could count every one of the beautiful eyelashes surrounding his glorious eyes. My eyes fluttered shut, I leaned in close, feeling the graze of his lips on mine.  
The door crashed open, startling me and making me whip my eyes toward the sound despite the insistent pull. Rapunzel, Cassandra, and Eugene stood in the entrance, looking frantic and out of breath. A flash of anger rushed through me, sudden and powerful, but it was gone as soon as it arrived. I was left startled, the fog briefly lifted. My eyes widened, oh this was bad.  
"Princess," I said urgently, trying to fight the drowsy effects of the potion. "The recipe, it's in this book," I rushed toward her, the pull nearly painful as I walked away from Varian. " You'll want to check these sections of the library," I wrote down a few notes inside the cover. "Oh," my mind struggled, what was it I wanted to say? "Could you get me and Varian a chaperone?" I said the word robotically, the last refrains of a thought I'd already forgotten. My eyes searched frantically, my whole posture relaxing as I found him.  
Varian was hovering by a notebook looking confused, gazing at the pages as though they were in a language he didn't speak. I drifted toward him, why had I left his side in the first place? He looked up from the book, face anxious until he saw me. He broke out into a dazzling smile, a spark shot through me in response. He walked to meet me, still clutching the notebook in one hand.  
I dimly registered Cassandra gently taking the notebook away as me and Varian simply gazed at each other. Their voices were urgent and irritating background noise.  
"Y/N," whispered Varian. I melted at the sound of my name from his lips.  
"Say it again," I urged pleadingly.  
"Y/N," he whispered even softer. The sound making a shiver go through me.  
"Yes?" I said softly.  
Someone grabbed my arm, I was faced with pleading green eyes. Green? My mind struggled through my thoughts, green wasn't the right color. Varian's eyes were blue, beautiful perfect blue. Not deceitful green.  
"Y/N, please!" the green-eyed girl cried. She didn't even say my name right, not the way Varian said it. She was shaking my shoulders, saying something entirely unimportant. Where was Varian? I couldn't see him, I broke her grasp, searching the room. He must be here somewhere, panic started to flood my veins. I rushed to the back room, I raced through the lab. He wasn't here.  
My breath started coming in terrified gasps, adrenaline flowing through me. She must have taken him, she had taken him away. She wanted him for herself, of course, she was jealous of us. I found her quickly, she looked at me with slowly dawning fear, good.  
I slowly walked toward her, rising to my full height, she began backing away. She was saying something, waving her arms in front of herself like a shield. She was trying to reason with me, to bargain? What could she bargain with, she knew exactly what I wanted. She kept taking steps backward, pressing against the cold stone wall as if she wanted to phase through it. I grabbed her shoulder, pressing her further into the stone with a strength I didn't know I had.  
"Where. Is. He," I growled, the sound coming low in my throat. Her eyes darted around the room, suddenly her body seemed to relax. She looked into my eyes, fear draining from her features slowly. She took a low deep breath and began to sing.  
The words fluttered past my ears, meaningless to me. But the tune, the melody reached through the thick fog, pulling my consciousness slowly to the surface. The potion fought, keeping a strong grip on my mind. A pain throbbed behind my eyes, splitting my head in two. I fought to open my eyes, Rapunzel, her name was Rapunzel.  
My body shook with the effort as I struggled, all of my muscles tensing as I gripped my head in my hands.  
"Princess?" I said, fighting to keep the melody echoing through my brain. She sighed happily, wrapping her arms around me tightly. Her touch felt like fire, burning my skin. I gasped with the pain, pushing her away.  
"Y/N," she started, gently. "We don't know what to do, we need your help," she was looking at me, pleading. I took a deep breath, trying to settle myself.  
"You can't undo the potion," I started, every word a struggle. "Not yet." she deflated, her posture sagging. "But, you can dilute it, make its effects less intense." she bounced up, an eager smile lighting up her face.  
"The bleeding heart flower," I started, breathing heavily from the effort. "You need to use the seed to make a sort of medicine, but it's very difficult." she paused, thinking for a moment.  
"I know what we need to do," she said confidently. she started to head toward the door but turned back to me. "Y/N, is there somewhere you'd rather wait?" I nodded, relieved at the thought of rest.  
The cool grass of the greenhouse felt heavenly against my feverish skin, the urgent murmurs of the princess as they rushed about simply background noise. The sharp tug was pulling insistently, the fog threatening at all edges of my mind. I couldn't let myself think, couldn't focus on any of the whizzing thoughts racing through my brain.  
The cool glass of a beaker gently touched my lips, crisp cool liquid rushing down my throat. It tasted sharply of ginger, burning slightly as I swallowed it. The fever lifted slowly, the fog threatening my consciousness going with it. I opened my eyes with a gasp, quickly connecting with the worried gaze of Varian.  
"Hi," I said quickly, a blush rising to my face. He backed away quickly, letting me rise to a sitting position. A red flush colored his face as he awkwardly fidgeted with his hands.  
"Hey," he responded, a shy smile rising on his face. I couldn't help but return it. I sighed in relief, the simple power of being able to think clearly was relieving.  
"So," said Cassandra. I was suddenly aware that I was surrounded by the others. "We've diluted your potion, what do we do now?" she was looking down at me angrily, her hands on her hips.  
"Well," I started, standing up slowly. "Before the potion fueled an obsession, now it fuels an interest." I avoided looking at Varian, knowing I would immediately forget how to speak clearly. "There are some options with what we do now, most people don't make it this far. How did you guys manage to make the other potion?" It didn't make sense, it was an incredibly difficult task even under normal circumstances. Cassandra raised an eyebrow, looking pointedly behind me at Varian.  
He laughed awkwardly as I turned to face him, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at me with a dorky grin.  
"They uh," he started, avoiding eye contact. "They told me you had been poisoned and that this was the cure, I wasn't exactly thinking clearly but..." he trailed off, looking up at me again. Wow, was there anything this guy couldn't do? I smiled at him, impressed. He laughed but looked incredibly pleased with himself.  
"Do you guys still have the book I gave you?" I looked at Rapunzel, who looked at Cassandra, Cassandra glared at Eugene who was too busy gazing at his reflection to notice. I looked between them all, who were all pointedly not looking at me. I groaned and put my hands on my hips. "What did you guys do?" They looked sheepish.  
"Well..." started Rapunzel.  
"These two panicked after you and Varian went all lovey-dovey," said Cassandra. "And somehow managed to completely wreck the library and lose your book in the mess. That's why Raps had to go back and try and bring you to your senses."  
I felt the color drain out of my face, the library? The beautiful and quiet library? I felt the anger rise but forced myself to shove the emotion back down, they were only trying to help. It wasn't fair of me to be angry at them when they were only concerned about my well being after all. I took a deep breath through my nose and let it out slowly from my mouth.  
"Ok, well, like I said there are some options but they are mostly theories at this point," most people didn't get this far after all after they were caught in the love potion  
most just gave up on them and left the couple to have no other world but each other.  
"So? What should we do?" said Rapunzel.  
"Well you guys don't need to do anything, it's something me and Varian will have to figure out," I gave them a pointed glare, hoping they would get the message.  
They each gave me a knowing look, made their excuses, and left.  
I patted the ground next to me and Varian sat down with a heavy thud. I gave him a nervous glance, he was simply staring at his hands in his lap. What could he be thinking right now? He looked confused and sad for some reason, had I made him sad? The thought made my chest ache, we were just starting to know each other and I knew I would regret it if I didn't at least try to fix this.  
Here we go.


	8. Chapter 8

Golden light filtered through the grimy greenhouse panes, illuminating the entire room in a warm glow. The motes of dust floated lazily in the air, mixing with the pollen from the blooming flowers releasing their heady perfume to fill the space. I took a deep breath, taking a moment to center myself, absorbing the sweet scent of the flowers and the remaining burn of ginger in my mouth.  
Varian sat on the grass next to me, gazing up at the climbing vines clinging to the roof. He tilted his head back with a sigh, sliding his goggles off of his head with one hand to set them in his lap. His hair swooped in front of his eyes, the teal streak vibrant against the rest of his dark hair. A flash of memory overtook me, me running my hands through his hair while feverish from the love potion's effects. I shook the vision from my mind, determined to stay in the moment instead of retreating into the jumble of memories that formed my recent past.  
"Do you remember everything that happened?" I asked, examining the flowering vines in front of me.  
"I remember some stuff...But most of it is a blur," I nodded, not sure what to say. A silence stretched between us, it filled the room, making a wall I didn't know how to knock down. "I remember how I felt though" I sucked in a quick breath, looking at him for the first time.  
He was staring at me intensely, his expression unreadable. I felt like he was searching for something and all at once I understood. He was trying to see me again, how I was before his perception had been altered.  
"You know, I did warn you something bad was going to happen," I offered my grin as a peace offering, hoping we could talk normally like we used to. He looked away from me, his face shaded with guilt. A pang of emotion echoed in my chest.  
"Varian," I said softly, wishing we would just look at me. "It wasn't your fault."  
"How could you say that!" he cried, rushing to face me. His outburst surprised me and I jumped back, the look of guilt on his face worsened. He shrank back, wrapping his arms around his legs and burying his face in his folded arms. "Everything that happened was my fault, I pushed you to make the potion even when you warned me. I just thought I could do it and impress you," I smiled at him, reaching a hand out to rest on his shoulder.  
He jolted at my touch, raising his head enough to look at me from behind his arms. His eyes looked teary and shaded heavily with regret. I smiled at him reassuringly, trying to convince him.  
"Varian, sometimes accidents happen, and you didn't do anything wrong. You made the potion successfully, you took all the precautions, followed all of my instructions, it was just bad timing," he didn't look convinced, still hiding from my eyes. "And for the record, you did impress me," I added with a smile.  
He sniffled, raising his head more while wiping his eyes. His smile was shaky as he responded.  
"Really?" I scoffed, shaking my head with a smile.  
"Varian in the short amount of time since I've met you you have managed to get me my dream job, melted a lock on a greenhouse door with a pellet barely the size of a grape, recreate a potion I'd only read about in books, and then create the antidote while under the effects! You are the most impressive person I know," I finished with a laugh. He was blushing slightly, his eyes still a little red as he laughed with me. I opened my arms a little, knowing how it felt to mess up.  
He crashed into my arms, sniffling slightly into my shoulder. I squeezed him tightly, hoping to show how much I meant everything I said. He stepped back after a moment, looking grateful.  
"You know," I started with a smile. "As far as mess-ups go, I think I take the cake." He looked at me disbelieving.  
"Oh really?" his eyes sparkled with the challenge, I smirked in response.  
"Oh yeah, I had this amazing idea when I was experimenting with some new plants. I thought it would be a brilliant idea to crossbreed an especially hardy climbing vine with this flower I liked that bloomed at night." I laughed at the memory, remembering my excited optimism. "I wanted to make the flower more popular, plus they were both edible so I thought they might make a good food source. What actually happened was I created a plant that could completely overtake the village in a single night. My mother's face when she woke up covered in vines, she was furious," I snickered. Varian laughed too, looking surprised.  
"Ok, so you made a night-stalking super plant, that's not too bad," he said.  
"Oh, no, it gets better. So this thing completely takes over the town, it's everywhere. Well, it turns out I was at least a little right, it was a great food source. SO, now my entire village has a monthly festival where they serve dishes made from the plant exclusively. They invite people from all around the seven kingdoms, hoping to cut down the growth for a while. And, get this, they name the festival after the worst childhood nickname I had as revenge," Varian was cackling on the floor, clutching his sides.  
My cheeks hurt from smiling as I looked at him.  
"Wow, that is pretty bad, but I think I've got you beat," he said with a confident smirk.  
"Oh, I doubt it," I responded.  
"Ever wonder how I got the position as royale alchemist?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.  
"You know, I have found myself wondering that," I fired back playfully, resting my head in my hands.  
"So it's the Coronan science fair, and I have this new invention I'm entering. It can create an entirely new element and I'm really excited to try it out and show off my skills to Corona, but I need an assistant to do my presentation. Well, I was hoping Cassandra would help me but she was busy setting up the fair and doing her lady in waiting duties. So I decide to help her so she'll be my assistant, but she gets this huge opportunity and can't do it. So my presentation is a complete disaster and I'm moping, but then the judge decides to mess with my experiment. Well, everything goes wrong and my invention ends up making a nearly unstoppable cyclone in the middle of the fair and it completely destroys everything." he snickers at the memory his features softening as he recalls it all.  
I could see the shift in his expression when he started talking about Cassandra, the admiration he had for her was obvious and made my smile feel a little more forced.  
"So how did you become the royal alchemist after that disaster?" I asked with a smile. He turned to me excitedly, his eyes lighting up.  
"Well, I ended up showing Rapunzel and Cassandra the inspiration behind my invention which was these really weird rocks around my town and-" he cut himself off, his hand flying to his mouth.  
"What?" I asked, confused.  
"Oh, I wasn't supposed to tell you that," he said, growing fear and dread lingering on his features.  
"What? What weren't you supposed to tell me?" I furrowed my brow, confused about why he was so defensive. So he saw some weird rocks, what was the big deal?  
"Look, Varian, whatever it is you don't have to tell me. But you can trust me, you know that right?" he looked at me and nodded, I smiled and he sighed with relief.  
"So," I started. "That happened, then what?" he smiled, clearly excited that I was interested in his story.  
"Well, the princess asked for my help with something she was trying to figure out and to keep it a secret. So she recruited me to come and help her here, and conduct my experiments in a safer area." he smiled fondly at the memory.  
"Wow, Varian that's so exciting! Secret missions huh, sounds fascinating," he smiled happily, clearly glad that I hadn't pushed him. I was curious of course, but if he wanted to tell me he would. At least that was what I told myself as I silently begged him to tell me all the details of his secret job with the princess.  
"Ya well, it's nice to have all the materials I need and my own space to work in, but I do miss home," he gained a wistful expression as he looked up at the sky, he looked so homesick.  
"Do you want to see something cool," I said, leaning in close. I knew just the thing to cheer him up from his homesickness. His eyes lit up, his entire demeanor changing in a moment.  
"Of course!" he said, bouncing up to his feet. I laughed as I got up to join him.  
"Follow me," I called with a mischievous grin, rushing toward the main entrance of the palace. The sun was lowering in the sky and we needed to get there before sunset if we wanted to see something really special. I couldn't help but laugh as we both raced through Corona.  
We caught some odd looks as we ran past the citizens but I couldn't find it within myself to care. The entire kingdom was aglow with orange sunlight as the sun began its descent toward the glimmering sea. The shade of the forest was cool and fresh compared to the streets of the kingdom as I dodged around trees and jumped over roots.  
"Hurry up Varian!" I called over my shoulder, laughing. I raced up a steep hill, my breath coming in gasps and my legs aching from the trek. The sun was nearly meeting with the horizon, adrenaline pumped through my body making me quicken my pace.  
Finally, I crested the rise and stood at the top of the hill. Varian wasn't far behind me, panting heavily with a red face. I would've laughed hadn't I already been so out of breath. We both took a moment to slow our heart rate and catch our breath. Once I felt I could speak without gasping I straightened up, motioning to Varian to show he should follow me.  
The top of the hill was densely covered in with thick low growing foliage, coating the entire hill for as far as the eye could see. It was dark green, bursting with leaves. A few solitary trees were scattered about and I made my way toward the gnarled oak tree growing near the edge of the hill that fell into cliffs. I leaned against its rough bark, watching the sun as it started to dip into the sea that was now painted gold. I never knew how beautiful the sunsets in Corona were.  
I turned back to Varian, the excitement of what we were about to witness made me giddy just thinking about it.  
"Well this is definitely an amazing sunset-watching spot, I have to hand it to you," said Varian with a grin. I scoffed, rolling my eyes.  
"It is, but that's not the only reason I brought you were," I said with a smirk. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to continue. "The plants surrounding us are called Phoenix blossoms, and this is one of their only known native areas. Now, Phoenix blossoms are known for many things, but their most spectacular trick happens at sunset every day." I motioned toward the last rays of sunlight as the sun finally sank into the sea, the golden rays slowly leaving the hill.  
Slowly, one by one, the plants around us began to grow and bloom before our eyes. Their buds burst open in a flurry of sparks revealing glowing blossoms that crackled like fire, glowing in red and gold. The blossoms spread over the hill like wildfire, illuminating the entire horizon with flickering bursts of glimmering color. I looked over at Varian, his face glowed with golden light, his eyes sparkling in wonder as they reflected the glowing flowers. I smiled excitedly, leaning in close to his side.  
"Just wait," I whispered. "This is the best part." With a fizzing crackle and shower of sparks, the flowers began to shoot off of their stems and flurry about into the sky. Soon we were surrounded by cascading waves of golden petals floating in the wind. They spun around us, caught in the swift sea breeze that soared above the cliffs. I laughed, spinning in the shower of color, getting petals hopelessly caught in my hair, and eventually falling into a pile of blooms.  
Varian crashed to the ground next to me, his face was streaked with shimmering pollen and his hair was covered in petals and had a distinct gold glimmer. He was laughing as he fell into the pile of flowers next to me. He looked so happy, all traces of sadness were gone from his features.  
He opened his eyes, looking at me with childlike wonder. He sighed like a great weight was lifting off of him. He looked into the sky, the very first stars just beginning to emerge, their sparkle reflected in his eyes.  
"Thank you Y/N," he said softly. "I really needed this."  
"Of course," I responded. I was just happy I finally had someone to share all of this with, someone who could appreciate how beautiful the world around us could be. I sat up, looking out at the reflection of the stars in the ocean as the sky stretched into the horizon. "You know," I started, ignoring my frantic heartbeat. "I always hoped I could find someone to show all of this to," I turned back to him with a smile. "I'm glad it's you."  
His entire face flushed and he laughed nervously, rubbing his neck as he gave me a shy smile.  
"I'm glad you showed me," he replied softly. I smiled at him, looking back out over the cliffs.  
He moved to sit next to me on the edge of the cliffs, both of us staring at the stars. We sat there a moment, admiring the night sky and enjoying the comforting quiet. Soon the breeze turned cold and I began to shiver. Varian looked at me sympathetically standing up and offering me a hand, I rolled my eyes but took his hand as he helped me up. We started our slow walk back to the palace when I suddenly remembered the potion.  
"Oh!" I said suddenly, smacking myself on the forehead. Varian startled, looking at me surprised. "I was supposed to talk about the options after we diluted the potion! I completely forgot!" I groaned, embarrassed. How could I forget the entire point of our conversation?   
Varian looked at me a moment, then burst out laughing. I tried to stay angry.  
"Varian!" I scolded him. "It's not funny, we have to talk about it sometime! It's important." I tried to keep my voice stern but I was already laughing with him. He looked at me fondly.  
"We can talk about it tomorrow Y/N, I think we needed a bit of a break" I rolled my eyes, but if he didn't mind I wouldn't dwell on it.  
I took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh night air as we walked along the bridge toward Corona. Varian was right, I needed this.


	9. Chapter 9

I jolted awake, my eyes blinking rapidly as I tried to see in my pitch dark room. The sun hadn't yet risen, the kingdom of Corona still peaceful and quiet. I yawned, rubbing my eyes as I sat up slowly. Why had my brain decided to wake me up so early? I contemplated slipping back into bed and going to sleep but eventually decided that a few more hours would do me good.  
I still grumbled in irritation as I stumbled through my morning routine, banging into my sparse furniture at every opportunity. It took an embarrassingly long amount of time but soon I was dressed and ready to face the outside world despite my new bumps and bruises. I ran a hand down my face with a groan, slowly making my way to the door as another yawn overtook me.  
I passed through the empty hallways in a daze, still half asleep as I headed to the kitchens. A few solitary guards were my only company in the grey light of pre-dawn. Their eyes followed me sleepily as I lurched past, from their bloodshot eyes and sinking posture they had been the graveyard shift. I winced in sympathy, thinking of how boring it must be to pace the same hallways over and over.  
The kitchen was completely empty, the pots and pans still stowed in the cupboards. I perked up, the slow spark of an idea entering my mind. A smile grew on my face as I began flitting around the room, gathering various ingredients in my arms. I cracked my knuckles with a confident smirk as I started a fire and began mixing my ingredients in a large pot. Soon, the wonderful smell of chocolate filled the kitchen and my stomach growled in sympathy.  
I grabbed as many mugs as I could fit onto the largest tray in the kitchen, mentally wondering if I would be able to carry it all. I carefully distributed the steaming liquid into the mugs with a ladle, smiling as the last drop filled the last mug perfectly. I bit my lip, stomach tensing in anticipation as I carefully started lifting they tray. It tilted for a moment, making the mugs clatter and threatening to spill the hot chocolate I had just prepared, I quickly righted the tray and slowly shoved open the door.  
I walked up to the first guard with a smile, excitement sparking through me.  
"Excuse me?" I said to the guard, who jumped to attention rapidly, his eyes snapping open. "Oh, sorry, I was just wondering if you wanted a drink?" I lifted the tray, smiling apologetically. He blinked down at me slowly, looking confused until he saw the steaming mugs.  
He looked back up at me, his features softening with gratitude as he grabbed a mug off of the tray. He blew on the steaming liquid before taking a sip, his eyes widened and I prepared myself for the worst.  
"This is delicious!" he said with a huge smile. "Thank you," I felt renewed with all new energy, practically bouncing with happiness.  
"It's no problem," I responded with a wide smile as I headed down the hall toward the other guards posted.  
I traveled from post to post, my tray becoming more and more empty as I passed through the palace. As I gave a mug to the last guard on the floor I looked down to see one last cup, still steaming hot. I contemplated it for a moment, then headed toward the lab with a bounce in my step.  
I stood outside the door, contemplating if I should go inside and deliver it to him. He could still be asleep though...I knocked gently at the door, setting the mug down carefully on the ground. I took a deep breath, full of energy and ready to start my day officially.  
I made a quick pitstop by the kitchen to drop off the tray then headed toward the library, mentally preparing myself for the disaster I was about to walk into. I pushed open the huge doors with a pensive breath, cracking my eyes open slowly. Fallen books covered the floor, nearly all of the shelves empty. I let out a frustrated huff as I tied back my hair, how did the even manage to do this?  
I stretched my arms toward the ceiling, hearing my spine crack as I carefully picked my way through the mess of books. Well, I had to start somewhere. I sat carefully in the center of the mess, slowly sorting the books into piles. Dimly, I was aware of the sun rising behind me and the kingdom slowly waking up with it. The time passed in a blur, and soon the floor had been cleared and now the books were in categorized piles simply waiting to be returned to the shelves.  
I stood, my back aching from the monotonous work, I eyed the piles with determination. Soon the library would be restored to its proper glory. I started with the lowest shelves, working my way around the room as the shelves began to fill and the piles began to decrease. Soon the empty shelves were out of my reach and I had to start using the ladder that reached to the top of the tower.  
I was sweating before long, from climbing up and down the ladder to carrying heavy stacks of books my whole body was aching. I was shaken from my steady routine when I saw a strange-looking panel in the middle of one of the shelves. The wood was a slightly different tone, the grain going a different direction than the rest of the panels around it. I examined it quizzically, reaching a hand back to gently touch it.  
At my touch the panel shifted with a groan, nearly making me fall off of the ladder in surprise. I regained my balance, my heart racing frantically in my chest. I reached out again, pushing the panel back completely. It retracted into the wall, revealing a small hidden space with a single ancient tome resting inside. The thrill of discovery rushed through me as I gently removed the book from its hiding place. I cradled to my chest as I slid down the ladder to the floor.  
I raced to the desk, clearing away the piles I had placed on top of it and carefully placing the book in the center. The book was thick and leather-bound, no title or author was present on the outside. While covered in dust and cobwebs, the book itself didn't seem to be very old. I blew away the dust, gently opening the book. The paper was rough, the curling writing covering the pages looping in casual cursive.  
I examined the pages for a moment, something about it giving me pause. I gazed at the pages with my brows furrowed, gently running my fingers down the paper. I flipped through the book, it appeared to be a journal. Each entry was dated, but the author wasn't clear. The first entry was from nearly 30 years before, with an entry following every day afterward. My mind reeled, a complete record of someone's life for thirty years! This was a historian's dream!  
I flipped eagerly to the last page in the book, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that the last entry had a signature. It was my mother's name, and suddenly everything clicked. That was why the handwriting seemed familiar, it was hers. I looked at the date of the last entry, the number making me gasp and my eyes start to water. It was the day of my mother's death.  
Tears began to fall down my face as I clutched the journal, hugging it to my chest with a muffled sob. My mind was caught in a whirlwind, thoughts flying through my brain too quickly for me to process. I left the library in a daze, letting my feet carry me wherever they saw fit.  
The hallways melted together, my mind numb with shock. Nothing made sense. But even as the thought occurred to me my mind was already trying to draw connections. It wasn't until I shoved my way through the door and collapsed to the floor that I realized I had wandered to the lab.  
I sat there, curled on the floor crying for a few moments, struggling with the sheer weight of this realization. I dimly heard a crash and frantic footsteps heading toward me.  
Varian's face lowered into my vision, blurred from my tears. He was saying something, his face contorted with concern and worry. I looked at him blankly for a moment before crashing into him with a sob. He froze, then tentatively wrapped his arms around me, cradling me in a delicate embrace. I slowly became more aware, feeling his hands rubbing small circles into my back and the whisper of his breath as he mumbled comforting words in my ear. I took a shaky breath, trying to center myself despite my confusion.  
I sniffled, leaving his arms to wipe my eyes and settle my nerves. I looked up at him, the care and concern on his face were nearly enough to send me right back into his arms. I took another breath, convincing myself that I had to be strong now. He just sat there, waiting patiently for when I was able to speak.  
"I'm sorry," I said softly, wiping my eyes.  
"Hey," he said softly, lifting my head so I had to look into his eyes. "You don't ever have to be sorry for coming to me when you need help, that's what I'm here for," he offered me a small cautious smile and I tried my best to give him one back. "So, can you tell me what happened?" I nodded, preparing myself.  
"I was organizing the library, putting all the books back onto the shelves, and then I found something," I lifted up the book, Varian eyed it curiously. "It was hidden behind a secret panel. It's a journal from 30 years ago, but that's not all." I took a shaky breath, feeling the threat of incoming tears behind my eyes. "It's my mother's and the last entry is the day she died." I finished at a whisper, tears sliding down my face again.  
Varian looked at me a moment, the surprise and sympathy laid out clearly on his face. He paused, clearly trying to think of something to say, but instead he just wrapped me in another hug.  
I fell into his arms gratefully, welcoming the sense of peace and comfort that came along with it. I wasn't sure how long we stayed there, but it was long enough for my tears to dry and for me to finally feel strong enough to look at the journal again.  
"Ok," I whispered as I left his arms, already missing their warmth. I looked down at the leather journal still clutched tight in my hands, all new questions began to form in my mind but I pushed them aside. I ran my hand along its cover, reminding myself yet again that somehow this was really happening. I looked at Varian, he nodded, squeezing my shoulder supportive as I cracked open the leather cover for the second time.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well well well, this chapter is all about Y/N's mother, Claudia, and her past. Some questions will be answered, but I hope I can preserve some of the mystery. Enjoy!

Dear Journal,   
Today we leave the Kingdom of Corona and head north to greener pastures. They say we have outstayed our luck here and must continue onwards, though I am not convinced. I have only just been gifted with the Sight, but it gives me no answers, simply more questions.  
I can't help the feeling that we are running from something, something they won't tell me about. Whatever it is that seems to be chasing us it must be getting closer, our leader gets more frantic by the day.  
So we are going north, skirting the borders of the kingdoms and staying to small villages instead. We offer up our most sacred skills as parlor tricks, getting the scraps these poor people can spare. I see their hunger and poverty, I only wish I could tell them their futures were full of good fortune and happiness but I was never a skilled liar.  
The joy on their faces when they see us come into town is something to behold, you would believe we came to save them instead of simply tell what little of their fortunes we can decipher. I'm not yet allowed to try my skill at reading fortunes, a fact I have argued endlessly with my father that he refuses to be swayed on. I am forced instead, to spend my days wandering the village by myself.  
These village boys think themselves so impressive, believing I will swoon to the ground at their petty shows of strength. I was tempted to tell them that simply striking down a wild deer said nothing of themselves other than a taste for blood, but I assumed the thought would be lost on them.

Dear Journal,

We have arrived in the north, it is as cold and dreary as we were promised. Covered in shadows and darkness, and it storms up here like you wouldn't believe! I know the truth now, my visions gave shown me what awaits us here. Destruction is promised but we are not known to shy away from the twisted road of fate. We were never running, simply marching ourselves to the gallows, I only wish I had seen back then.  
The darkness of this kingdom drags me down, the entire land is plagued by these strange rocks. The people are afraid, everyone is afraid. Something strange ad powerful is here, it will be their undoing.  
They try to keep it from me, still thinking me a child too unskilled to even tell a fortune. They refuse to acknowledge the years that have passed since then, what would they say if they could see me? Truly? I know more than anyone that that day will never arrive. I nearly broke and said goodbye to father this morning, it will be the last we get to share together, but I have to be stronger than that now. I have a burden to bear, knowledge I cannot share with anyone. I pity the king, he hopes to save his people, he will succeed only in destroying them.

Dear Journal,

I have left the north, but I feel its chill with me always. The terror of the fallen kingdom was something I hope to never witness again. I am now the last of my people, the end of our traditions. The joy of our songs lifts my spirit, I hope they have found the peace I could not bring them. But I cannot cry, my life has been carefully planned by the hand of fate and I will not fail her now. A woman by herself traveling the wilds is an easy target, but if the wilds had any sense at all they would run the moment I crossed the horizon.  
I try to forget what I left behind, but trusting the hand of fate seems foolish now that I have witnessed its destruction. I need to trust in my gift, but my visions are more confusing than ever. I've found myself wandering without direction, but the pull of destiny is always there.  
I wish the future were more uncertain, but I know the life I live is one of importance if not one of happiness. I mourn my people with every step, praying that their lives will not be in vain. I will work within the confines of destiny as best I can.

Dear Journal,

I have found the village I will live in from now until my death, its beauty cannot be captured in words. These people see me as a stranger but I can't help but look at them and see the lifelong friends we will become. I will make joy my destiny.  
It is small, the kind of town where everyone knows one another and they all fall into the dame daily routine. I wonder where I will fit in among them. The chill is gone from my bones, replaced with the warmth of the sun and the ever-present smell of flowers.  
I met him today, he was the first face I glimpsed when I walked into town and I knew from the moment I saw him. So kind, so strong, I will try not to break when he leaves me behind but I know it will change me forever. I will love him more than anything I've ever experienced.

Dear Journal,

I have my own home in the village, the people call out to me when I pass on the street. I have made a vow to never look more than one day ahead if I can help it, some things are too wonderful to be spoiled.  
He is still here by my side, the way his laugh can fill an entire room makes me light up with joy. He has already made his choice with me, I pretend to still be unsure. It is worth the flowers he places outside my door, the way he perks up when I enter the room.  
The other day he wove me a basket from the fronds of my favorite flower and filled it with his best crops. The smile I wore for the rest of the day refused to be dampened, even when I ruined my favorite pair of shoes by stepping into a mud puddle as I was lost in thought.  
The love this village inspires is beyond anything I could have every imagined. I know that this is where I was meant to be. 

Dear Journal,

I saw her for the first time in my visions last night, the beauty of her smile is worth a thousand lifetimes. My daughter, she will have her father's strength and his laugh, she will have my power. I hope it brings her joy. I would give her the world if I was able.  
I won't be able to protect her, I see all of my failures mapped out before me. Will she think I'm a good mother? The hope seems foolish, but I know how much love she will bring into my world. I hope she will love me despite my mistakes, that she will forgive me when I'm gone from this world.

Dear Journal,

We lost him today. Fate never showed me this sorrow. The entire world grieved, it feels as though the sky will rain forever. The entire village mourned his loss. I buried him among the flowers, seeing his beauty reborn within their growth.  
It's just the two of us now, though I still show no signs of her. I comfort myself in thoughts of the future, she will be so like her father, full of his light. The villagers comfort me as best they can, I can see their love in every action. I will rely on them when she arrives, I hope we all raise her well.

Dear Journal,

She looks just like her father. She came into the world laughing and her joy filled the room just like his, I couldn't help but cry. My house doesn't feel lonely anymore, she has made it a home again. She hasn't opened her eyes yet, but I already know how lovely they will look in the light, how they will sparkle with her joy.  
I never knew how much love someone could feel until I met them, they made my future worthwhile.  
The entire village already adores her, I try not to get too jealous. She is just what we all needed. Times have been tough in the village these past months, something is changing. I wish the future were more certain.

Dear Journal,

I wonder sometimes if I deserve her, after everything I've done. I know how fascinated she would be with the history of our people, I ache to teach her our traditions but fate has another plan. What would she think if she could see me? Truly? I can't tell her the truth and I know she can tell I'm keeping things from her. How will she forgive me after I'm gone?  
I've been all over the village, I feel as though I have to repay them for everything they've done for me. My days are so busy, I do as much as I can. I want her to remember me well, I hope she looks up to me, is proud that I'm her mother. She is the best daughter I could have ever hoped for.

Dear Journal,

She is brilliant and she will leave me soon. Her heart yearns for adventure, I've always known this was coming but I never knew how much it would hurt to know I have to let her go. How can I protect her?  
The world is calling to her, and adventure is in her blood. Her love of the world will only increase with her experiences and I can feel the joy she will spread through the world, it radiates like the sun.  
She will do amazing things, I have always known that with or without the Sight. I hope she doesn't miss me too much. I hope the grief doesn't weigh her down. I hope she remembers me fondly and not with sadness. I would give her the world if I could. I'm leaving things behind for her in the village, so she can know the truth after I'm gone.

Dear Y/N,

I love you. I'm sorry there was so much I could never tell you, and so much I must keep from you still. I would ask you to be patient, but I know you too well for that. I wish I could know exactly what to say to comfort you now, to make you feel what I wish I could convey. I love you, I wish I didn't have to leave you.  
Your father would be so proud of you, I should have told you more about him. He loved flowers, just like you. The same love of helping others is within you. I wish I could give you more than the Sight, as it is as much a gift as a burden.  
Trust yourself, never be afraid or ashamed of what you are or where you have come from. Our people were strong and we were fearless, their strength lies within you. I'm sure you have many questions, I'll answer what I can. The song that lives within you was gifted to our people long ago, it is a song as old as we can remember. Your Sight will grow stronger with time, you will be able to control and interpret it as you evolve into whoever you are destined to become.  
If there is one last bit of knowledge I can give you after I'm gone, it's this. Never be afraid to love my darling, it is the power and force within us all. It strengthens and weakens us but we cannot live without it. You were the greatest gift I could have ever received, I love you.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, so the plan is to resolve a little of the plot and put it on pause for a chapter or two in favor of some lighter stuff. I want to make sure I feature all the characters properly so some stuff I have planned makes sense, so after this enjoy some fluffy little plotlines.

I let the journal fall closed as I tried to process everything. All that my mother never told me, things she still refuses to reveal even now. I wanted to be angry, I searched for the familiar flame of rage but all that greeted me was my immense sorrow. How had she suffered and never told me? I thought of the woman in my memories, strong and reliable, endlessly supportive but always distant. They matched the woman who wrote the journal, but my mind refused to join the two.  
Varian gently laid his hand on my shoulder, bringing me back to reality. I took a deep shuddering breath, my entire body shaking with the force of my grief. I looked at him, surprised to find tears running down his cheeks as well. I clutched the journal to my chest and leaned into him, he wrapped his arms around me and I let myself cry.  
The tears flowed easily, the force of my sobs shaking me to my core. I couldn't handle this right now, my mind was rushing from revelation to revelation, refusing to let me dwell on a single thought. The silence was pushing down on me, left to nothing but the mocking cry of my own thoughts I felt I might go insane.  
"Say something," I whispered, my voice ragged. "Anything but the silence." He stiffened at the sound of my voice, taking a moment to gather his thoughts.  
"I've always loved plants, did you know that? I'm awful at taking care of them, but I always thought they were so beautiful. How can something be so delicate and yet an unstoppable force of nature? I tried studying them, but we both know how that usually goes." He laughed, and I found a small smile growing on my face.  
"Funny thing is, whenever I look at plants I feel like I'm faced with a riddle that I can't crack. Like there is something wonderful and amazing happening just beyond my reach, something I can only see but never hope to understand." He paused. "I felt the same way when I met you for the first time."  
I sniffled, raising my head so I could look at him. His eyes were red from crying, his face botching, but his eyes shone with emotion.  
"I can't even begin to understand what you're going through right now," he admitted, looking at me nervously. "But your mother...She was right about you. She saw that you were something special. I don't know what's going through your head right now, but I'm here for you. I promise." I smiled, trying to wipe the last tears from my eyes as I sat up.  
"It's strange," I started, my voice still ragged from the tears. "Reading this made me feel as if I never even knew her, but it makes everything make so much sense. I knew she loved me, but she was always so distant and sad. I felt like she was always preparing herself for the worst, I guess I was right." I finished with a derisive laugh. I sighed, slowly getting to my feet. Varian followed, eyeing me warily like I was about to break.  
"Varian," my voice broke. "Thank you, I would have never been able to deal with this alone. I think I just need to put this away for a while before I can deal with it." he nodded, looking cautious. He offered me a smile and I returned it the best I could. "Really, just you being here helped so much. Varian, if you ever need me I want to be there to help you. I'm here if you ever need me."  
He smiled then, a full genuine smile. His face was red, his eyes still watery from tears. He nodded instead of responding and I gave him an awkward wave as I pushed open the door of the lab and entered the palace again.  
The glaring sunlight filtering through the windows surprised me, it was barely in the afternoon and yet it felt like days must have passed. This is what I get for waking up early. I sighed, walking to my room as quickly as I could.  
My room seemed so small and empty, all of my things still put away. It was like I still expected to be kicked out of the palace at any moment. I opened the closet, my few clothes not even filling the space. I sighed, placing the journal in the corner of the closet and covering it with some of my clothes.  
I felt stifled by the four walls surrounding me, the room felt as though it was slowly shrinking, threatening to enclose me entirely. I burst through the door with a huff, heading to the greenhouse as quickly as possible.  
The building seemed to be waiting for me, the plants waiting for me to come and care for them. I sighed happily as I shut the door behind me, feeling the tension draining from my shoulders. I cracked my neck and grabbed the belt of gardening tools I had requested. I fastened it tightly around my waist and approached the first overgrown plant in line.  
Its fronds were hopelessly overloaded, I sighed as I brought out a pair of clippers and began to remove fronds. I want through the manual work mindlessly, taking stock of all the plants growing within the building. They were fairly normal, though many had been pushed aside by weeds and were on their last legs. I warily approached the bleeding heart, gently harvesting some blooms and seeds. I placed the jar of collected materials within a pocket on my belt and continued.  
I cleared the floor, placing the broken pottery and shards of glass in a pile. I further explored the room, surprised by how large the greenhouse truly was, I wondered what had happened to its previous caretaker and why they had left their beloved plants to the wild.  
Nearly halfway through the greenhouse, I was tired, sweaty, and ready to never see another dandelion for as long as I lived. Whatever had previously been growing in many of the flowerbeds had been long dead or completely overrun with weeds. For some reason, I felt slightly disappointed with the lack of remarkable plants in the room. I wasn't sure what I had expected, maybe after the library, I thought every room in the palace was holding some legendary secret, but that expectation seemed foolish.  
Still, Corona was a fertile kingdom full of natural beauty, it made sense that I had thought its greenhouse would be something special. I pondered the growing pile of clippings and weeds that I had placed in a bin near the door, so far the greenhouse was perfectly average. The outside would need to be cleaned as well, but the thought of spending the rest of my day scrubbing dirt and pollen off of glass made me want to collapse on the floor. I sighed as I looked over my work, despite spending most of my day in here there wasn't much of a difference.  
I sighed, irritated as I paused a moment to stretch out my tired muscles. I contemplated heading back to the palace and finding another task to occupy the rest of my day but I shook the thought away, I would have to do it eventually anyway. I pulled on a pair of gardening gloves as I approached a particularly thorny bush that had overtaken a corner of the room. I wrenched away one of the branches, searching for the center of the cluster amid the branches. I paused when I saw a small flower growing among the shady branches. I swept them aside and focused on the plant.  
Its stem was a pale green with the leaves being a slightly darker shade, the flower hadn't bloomed yet and was still only a bud. The outside shimmered golden despite the flower itself appearing white. I didn't recognize it as any flower I had ever heard of, which made me suspect it was some local variety of a common flower. It looked so small and delicate. I smiled at it as I removed the prickly bush that had obscured it from view. Strangely, there didn't seem to be any other sprouts in the area.  
I gave the flower bud a small bit of water before I continued on. It looked as though the central piece of the room had once been a tall oak tree that reached to the top of the ceiling, but the tree had long been dead by now. I placed my hand on its rotting wood sadly, chopping it down would be a hassle but it could be used to provide nutrients for other plants I had yet to introduce.  
I continued on toward a small courtyard covered in cobblestones, there had once been a design on them but the area was now covered in moss. I wandered into the center, removing the moss from the central stone. A beautiful carving of the sun was beneath, etched lovingly into the stone. I smiled in wonder as I carefully removed some of the grime that had worked its way into the design. My brow furrowed as a small portion of the carving appeared to be set out from the rest. The center of the sun had been etched with a detailed flower that was set slightly askew and lower than the rest.  
I turned the flower so it matched the rest of the design and pressed it down. I scrambled up as the ground below me began to rumble. The central stone began to fall into the ground as well as the rest of the courtyard to form a winding staircase going into the ground. A smile grew across my face as the thrill of adrenaline rushed through me, this is what I had been hoping for. I contemplated the stairs for a moment before heading back to a bush covered in yellow blossoms.  
I threw the blooms into a jar along with the seeds from another plant with a dash of water and shook it vigorously. The entire jar glowed with radiant yellow light and I smiled with satisfaction. I took a deep breath, a moment of fear shooting through my stomach as I started down the stairs.  
The passage was damp and covered with moss. Whatever its purpose was originally the passage had been long forgotten and abandoned by the world above. I held the jar up to illuminate some of the stone walls around me, the entire wall was etched with some detailed carving I couldn't quite make out. There appeared to be vines in the depiction but nothing else was clear.  
I continued down the stairs, unsure of how deep they would go. The carvings continued down with me, someone had spent a lot of time and money to make this space beautiful. But why? And why leave it to be forgotten underneath an equally abandoned greenhouse? The questions swirled through my mind as I continued my quest downward.  
The floor evened out beneath me suddenly, the ending of the stairs making me stumble. I grumbled in irritation as the entire room was hidden in inky darkness apart from a small halo of light around me. I dug in my belt before finally finding what I was looking for, my own modified version of plant food. Normally I would use it sparingly but this whole swathed in darkness thing was really starting to irritate me.  
I dumped the whole packet into the jar and lobbed it into the darkness, hearing the glass shatter on the stone ground. It only took a few moments but it felt like forever until reaching vines covered in glowing blossoms began to reach themselves across the floor. The vines continued around me and began growing rapidly up the walls behind me. Soon the entire room was glowing with warm golden light, I smiled in satisfaction with my work.  
The entire room was laid out before me and I gasped, a thrilled smile bursting onto my face. It was more like a cavern than a room, shelves stretching out farther than I could see. On every shelf was a jar filled with seeds carefully labeled with a scrawling hand. On a desk in front of me was a huge book with handwritten accounts of each and every plant that must grace these shelves. I twirled around, doing a happy dance at my good fortune. This is exactly what I had hoped for! I sat cross-legged on the ground with the book in my lap, preparing myself for a long night of reading each and every page.


	12. Chapter 12

I closed the heavy tome with a satisfied sigh. Whoever had written this was an incredible botanist, not only had they recorded the growth and properties of all of these plants that they had then properly preserved. They had provided notes on their own experiments with soil, light exposure, moisture, and various other ways to properly care for each and every problem. Some of these I had never heard of because they had invented several unique breeds and strains only found here!

I stood up with a pained groan, my legs and back aching from being hunched over and sitting on the floor for who knows how many hours. I gently returned the book to its place on the desk, eyeing it lovingly as I began the walk back up the stairs. Arriving at the top of the staircase, I was stumped for a moment on how to return the courtyard to its proper position. I inspected the area before finding another etching of a sun on the bottom of a stone bench. I turned the flower and pressed, the ground rumbling once more as the courtyard was formed again.

I smiled happily as I walked back to the palace. It was well into the night now, the stars were bright in the dark n sky and I smiled up at their sparkling light. A brisk breeze blew through the grounds, making me shiver as goosebumps raced up my arms. The night was completely silent except for the chirping of crickets, the lack of noise in the normally bustling palace sent a shiver of unease through me.

The palace was dark and cold, illuminated only by the occasional torch. The halls were empty and echoed with the sound of my footsteps as I walked along the route to my room. Something just felt off. It struck me that somehow I had managed to miss all of the guards who would regularly be patrolling this area, the entire palace seemed abandoned.

As my discomfort increased, I suddenly became aware of the echoing noise of dripping water. The sound seemed impossibly loud in the cavernous palace, the rhythmic noise seemed to come from all around me. I felt my heart racing in my chest, the flood of adrenaline to my system making me jumpier than ever. My foot splashed into a puddle, the dark water was freezing and sent pins and needles up my entire leg. I jumped, then became confused at the odd puddle simply sitting in the middle of the hall.

The sound of rushing water grew, the noise rising until I couldn't hear anything else. I was frozen in place, my legs refusing to move despite how much I wanted to run. My breath was coming in frantic gasps, my eyes darting around the hall for any sign of visible danger. All at once, the hall was plunged into complete darkness. I resisted the urge to scream.

I searched the inky darkness frantically, silently begging for my eyes to adjust. The feeling of water rising around me started, the freezing cold starting from my feet and slowly rising until I was waist-deep in the frigid water. My legs started to go numb, my lungs ached with the freezing cold air. I tried to cry for help, but no sound would leave my throat.

I was completely helpless, as the water continued to rise past my neck. I took a last gulp of air before my entire head was submerged beneath the water. I blinked open my eyes, surprised to see that I was no longer in the palace. I was surrounded by vaulted ceilings of smooth black rock, whatever structure it had been was now left to ruin.

An eerie blue glow filled the vast hallway, murals of warriors engaged in epic combat covered the walls. I tentatively took a breath, wary of the water that had just surrounded me. The air came easy, and I slowly began to move through the hall. It was covered in rubble and fallen columns but had once been a beautiful structure.  
The light grew stronger as I approached a large door at the end of the hall, it was slightly ajar with the blue light glowing from somewhere within. My footsteps made no noise on the floor beneath me, the entire place seemed to exist in some strange vacuum of noise. I pushed my way through The heavy door, it glided open slowly revealing a narrow stone walkway leading to something that shone with otherworldly neon light.

A huge looming figure sat before the glow, it mumbled to itself though the words failed to reach me. I slowly walked towards the light, the stone path leading to a drop for who knows how far on either side of me. I drew closer to the figure, the sharp reminder of fear stabbing through me. The figure turned suddenly, standing to its full height and glowering down at me with glowing yellow eyes.

I yelped, jumping back only to feel the horrifying sensation of my foot slipping off of the path. I gasped, reaching my hand out as I fell backward into the dark abyss. I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact that I was sure awaited me. Nothing came. I slowly opened my eyes and was baffled to realize I was standing in the middle of the greenhouse.

It was still the middle of the night, the glowing light of the moon shining in white speckles through the glass. My breath was coming in gasps, my heart beating so fast I felt like I was about to pass out. I slumped to the ground, wrapping my arms tightly around my stomach as I tried to commit every detail to memory. These visions, these nightmares, were somehow telling me the future. I would have laughed if I wasn't still gripped by terror.

Had mother's visions been so terrifying? Would I have to nearly die in all of them? Were they all tragic or would I see some happiness at some point? I sighed, rubbing my face and shakily rising to my feet. Exhaustion weighed down my mind, refusing to let me properly process anything I had just seen. I needed to sleep first and foremost.

Stumbling through the halls felt completely different, each guard and bright lantern was a stark reminder that I had reentered reality. Some of them looked at me concerned as I passed, I couldn't imagine what I must look like. I stumbled into my room, slamming the door closed with a loud crash. This day had gone on too long.

I dug through one of my bags that lay on the floor, shifting around stacks of books until I finally found what I was looking for. I had never been good at keeping a journal before, but I needed to write what I had seen down before the details drifted. 

I sat there, hunched over on my floor scrawling every detail I remembered of my vision until it was completely cataloged. My back ached from bending over, my mind reeled with the rush of events from the past hours. Changing into my nightclothes took longer than necessary as new details would drift through my mind and I would be sent back to my journal to jot them down before they flitted away.

Finally, I sat lying underneath my covers, staring at the dark ceiling above me. I was silently praying for sleep, but my mind refused to settle. I jumped from thought to thought, unable to quiet my restless brain. I took a deep breath, casting my mind out to think of something calming.

A dreamy fantasy floated up behind my eyes and I sighed happily. I lived in a house of red brick, covered in climbing vines. A vast greenhouse was nearby, where I would cultivate whatever I wished, learning new things constantly. It was by the forest, where I could explore and discover many new things, and observe the beauty and power of the world around me.

The house would be teeming with books, and always in a state of disarray. But I would always know exactly where to find what I needed. The kitchen would be filled with fresh ingredients that came from my own garden, some of them I had created myself. There were potted plants absolutely everywhere, adding their own life to every room. My mind started to wander, drowsiness slowing me down as I lazily imagined this beautiful life.

His science texts and alchemy instruments would be everywhere, naturally, but I would make a firm rule that all experiments would stay in the lab. I would assist him, as always. And we would be happy. A small smile accompanied these thoughts as I finally drifted off to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

A rapid knocking shocked me out of sleep. I groaned, irritated that I wouldn't be able to make up for how late I had stayed up the night before. The knocking continued, getting louder and more insistent the longer I took, god were they trying to break down the door!?

"GIVE ME A MINUTE," I shouted angrily, stumbling out of bed. I shuffled to the door, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and running my hands through my hair. I opened up the door with a sigh, my eyes still closed. "What," I grumbled.

"Yikes! Y/N, you should really get a morning beauty routine," I cracked my eyes open to see a very excited, and very awake, Eugene standing at my door. I sighed again, stretching my arms above my head with a crack.

"Morning Eugene," I said, ignoring his comment. "What do you need?" His eyes darted cautiously around the hallway, he leaned in conspiratorily.

"It's a surprise I'm planning for Blondie, could we talk somewhere private?" he whispered, still gazing warily around the corridor around him. I smiled and resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Of course, I'll meet you in the library in 10 minutes, ok?" he smiled eagerly, already practically bouncing down the hallway. I chuckled a bit, heading back into my room.

"Better make it 15! Take care of yourself!" he shouted back at me as I closed the door. This time I did roll my eyes, even though I was smiling.

Sure enough, it took me the better part of 15 minutes to shake myself awake and make my way to the library. I pushed open the large doors, to find Eugene frantically pacing from one and of the room to the other. He jumped at my entrance, then looked immediately relieved. I couldn't help but smile. I didn't know Eugene all that well, we'd never really spoken, but I found his earnest love for Rapunzel and drive for self-improvement endearing.

"Y/N, you're here! Wonderful!" He exclaimed, ushering me into the room before carefully checking the hall as he shut the doors behind me. I laughed, settling myself into one of the many comfortable chairs filling the room.

"Alright Eugene, what do you need from me?" He looked nervous, he was wringing his hands and he didn't seem to able to focus on any one thing in the room. A very not Eugene thing to do.

"Well the day of Hearts is coming soon, and it's also the day after our 9 month anniversary. I want to make it special you know? But, I have no idea what to do. I know Rapunzel would love anything I got her, that's just how she is, but I want to make sure that this means something." He was looking at me pleadingly, I couldn't help but be flattered.

"Wow, Eugene that's very thoughtful of you. But I don't know the princess that well, shouldn't you ask Cassandra?" As soon as I mentioned her name he tensed up. He groaned, running a hand down his face.

"Oh please, that dragon-lady wouldn't do anything to help me out. She would just tell me that I should know Blondie well enough to get her a good gift." He sighed, frustrated. He stood by the window, gazing thoughtfully out across the palace grounds. "Maybe she's right," he mumbled to himself, self-doubt obscuring his usually cheerful expression.

"Hey," I said softly, walking over to stand beside him at the window. "The fact that you are asking for help to get her the perfect gift just proves how much Rapunzel means to you. Actions speak louder than words, and you are already putting a lot of time and effort into making her happy, that's what matters." He looked at me gratefully, taking a deep breath and restoring his confidence.

"You're right," he said with a smile. "And I do have some ideas, which is why I came to talk to you. I know Blondie has been having trouble feeling cooped up in the palace recently, what with her dad confining her to Corona and everything. I wanted to try and create a place where she can feel connected and free on the palace grounds, you know, make her her own space." I nodded excitedly, the passion of starting a new project already filling me with excitement.

"Of course! I completely understand," I dug around in my pockets and found a small notepad of paper and prepare to take some notes. "So, what kinds of plants and flowers does the princess like?"

"That's the problem," he said with a huff. "She likes all of them! She loves pretty much everything, which makes it really hard to narrow down on what she likes especially."

"Hmmm, right," I stared thoughtfully at my notepad, my mind working. "She likes painting right?"

"She covers every available surface with her paintings, it's how she expresses herself," he replied with a fond smile.

"Right," I jotted down a few notes. A sudden idea popped into my head. "Does she have an art studio where she makes and stores all of her paintings?"

"Yes, it's right above her rooms, why?" He was looking at me confused as I clasped my hands together with excitement.

"Well, if she expresses herself through painting, then by looking at some of her paintings we could get some ideas on what she especially likes!" I finished with a happy cry. His eyes lit up, a hand going to run through his hair.

"Of course! Y/N that's brilliant!" I smiled happily as he raced out of the library, dragging me behind him. We rushed through the palace, weaving through the halls rapidly. I lost track of where we were in the maze of hallways as Eugene navigated the palace with ease.

Soon we were standing outside of the princesses room, I doubled over panting and out of breath. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to force more air into my lungs. I slowly rose back up, Eugene was smirking at me and I responded with a pointed glare as he pushed open the doors.

The room was brighter and more full of color than any other room I had seen in the palace. I couldn't help but smile as I took it all in, the room just screamed Rapunzel. Eugene led me through the room to a ladder tucked away in a corner. I tried to prepare myself as we climbed the ladder toward her studio, I'd never seen any of her paintings before.

I entered the room with a gasp of delight, detailed murals covered every inch of the walls, canvases of all shapes and sizes were stacked around the room. A space had been cleared in the center with various easels and paintings all in a different state of completion. The main feature of the room was a giant balcony that overlooked the entire kingdom.

"Wow," I whispered as I approached the balcony. "This is an amazing view." The village looked so small and quaint from this height, the winding roads, and boxy houses fitting together like a children's playset. The sun glittered off of the sea as it stretched into the horizon, the green ridge of the forest a smear in the distance. I sighed happily, turning back to the room with renewed energy.

I brought out my notepad as I walked from painting to painting. The princess had canvas after canvas filled with views of the horizon, detailed perfectly. I stared at them sadly, the sense of longing was palpable. I moved along the room, Eugene was right, the princess loved to paint. I took note of the plentiful flowering vines, the intricate trees she incorporated into so much of her work. But my mind kept going back to the horizon through her eyes.

I turned to Eugene, my brow furrowed. "Eugene?" he turned toward me from where he was gazing at an intricate portrait of his own face. "Did you have any ideas where you wanted this to go on the grounds?" he looked sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck, as he looked around the room.

"Well...I thought that would be more up your ally considering you would know what the plants would need and stuff." he shrugged with an abashed smile. I sighed with a huff, sketching some plans into my notebook as I headed toward the ladder.

"Fine, but I want to hear the story of how you and Rapunzel met. I've heard it before of course, but I think it could provide some inspiration." I slid down the ladder, Eugene following behind me.

We headed back through the palace corridors as I headed toward the greenhouse, maybe looking at some options with Eugene would make this project come to life. I walked through the palace silently, a million ideas floating through my brain. The princess wasn't very particular, that was true, but you could always tell when you got something perfect.

I swept open the door to the greenhouse, ushering Eugene inside. It looked just as I had left it, still somewhat wild, but I could see it's incredible potential just below the rough exterior. I led him to the courtyard, gesturing for him to sit on one of the benches as I placed myself opposite to him and brought out my notepad.

"Alright Eugene, from the beginning. You can throw in any other stories you think could be relevant as well of course." He cleared his throat, straightened his spine, and stood to present himself in the center of the courtyard. Was this going to be a performance? I thought to myself with an amused grin.

It was a performance, as I found out several hours later. But it was a wonderful story and I was lucky I knew how to take efficient notes, otherwise, I would have needed five notebooks.

"And that is the story of how I swept the princess off of her feet and managed to conquer death itself," Eugene finished with a dramatic flourish. I laughed, shaking my head as I finished my notes. Despite his ego, I had to trust that he was telling the story accurately, it was for a good cause after all.

"It sounds to me like Rapunzel dragged you into an adventure and then saved you at every possible moment of danger," I countered with a raised eyebrow. He gasped, affronted.

"How dare you! I was a charming rogue that guided her through the dangers of an unfamiliar world, and I'd thank you to remember that," I rolled my eyes with a smile.

"So," I started, deciding to change the subject. "Rapunzel likes views, wildflowers, climbing vines, and anything special I manage to cook up in the next week, yes?" I looked to Eugene, who nodded in agreement.

"Yup, that all sounds like Blondie." I hummed to myself, flipping through my notes. A thousand ideas flitted through my mind, and I dismissed them just as quickly.

"Something with a view..." I mumbled to myself, chewing on the end of my pen as I drummed my fingers against my leg. A spark of an idea settled in my brain." Wait, before you ran into Rapunzel you were robbing the palace right?"

"Well yes but-" I cut him off.

"And I assume you accessed the display room for the crown from the roof, yes?"

"of course, but how did you-"

"We need to go to the roof," I said confidently, gathering up my things and headed for the door. I glance back to see Eugene standing stunned in the middle of the courtyard. "Like, now I mean," I finished. He blinked rapidly and started following me as I exited the greenhouse and strode confidently toward the palace.

"Wait," called Eugene, jogging to catch up with me. "How did you know I accessed it from the roof? I didn't tell you that," I smiled happily, pleased that I would get to explain myself.

"Eugene, you were a thief renowned throughout the seven kingdoms and I was a girl traveling by myself on the road, you think I wouldn't have done my research?" he looked slightly offended for a moment, opening his mouth to probably object to the implication he would rob a single girl on the road. I held up my hand with a smile to stop his impending rant. "I'm not saying you would have, just that it only made sense on my part. Plus, you named yourself after a legend and history is kind of my thing. I simply made a logical assumption that based on your previous record and what I know of security within the palace that the best place to access the crown would have been from the roof," I finished with a shrug and a smile.

Eugene looked impressed and I found myself standing a little straighter. He looked away from me with a chuckle, running a hand through his hair as he looked up at the sky.

"You should be a guest on my thinking like a thief class, they wouldn't know what to do with you," he said with a smile. I laughed, shaking my head. We lapsed into a comfortable silence as I carefully inspected one of the palace walls. It was coated thickly with ivy, but if I remembered correctly there should be a hidden entrance to a ladder leading up to the roof.

"There should be something around here," I mumbled to myself as I pushed some of the ivy. I sighed with frustration as I continued to push huge clumps of vines away from the wall, only to reveal nothing.

"You know, I don't know why we're bothering with secret passages when I could just-" Eugene fell into the wall of ivy with a yelp as the stone he had been leaning against retracted into the wall with a click. I burst into laughter as he jumped back up with an irritated grumble and the section of stone in front of me fell away to reveal a dark passageway.

"After you," I said with a smirk as I followed Eugene into the pitch dark cavern. He huffed in irritation as he ventured into the darkness.


	14. Chapter 14

"You know Y/N, as much as I love this brilliant idea of yours, I think we should have considered the option where I didn't have to walk through a dark and musty passage that is probably absolutely crawling with cobwebs..." Eugene trailed off with a shudder and I couldn't help but snicker as we walked through the corridor.

He was right, the passage was completely blacked out in shadow and had the distinct smell of being abandoned for years. I sighed, rummaging through my pockets with a smile. I found the jar I was looking for and shook it. A green glow filled the jar, illuminating a small area around me. I held up the jar, searching the passage until I found Eugene standing a few feet in front of me. He regarded the now glowing jar with an impressed smile, I shrugged happily as I moved past him further into the corridor.

"They're called firefly ghost blossoms," I said as we ventured deeper into the passageway. "And we shouldn't be in here long, according to some old blueprints I found there should be a ladder right about here," I finished confidently as a tall ladder embedded into the wall entered the halo of light. I turned toward him with a satisfied smile, raising my eyebrows as he rolled his eyes at me.

"Ok, ok, I get it," he grumbled as I started to climb the ladder. The halo of light swung wildly as the jar dangled from a cord on my hip. I couldn't tell how far up the ladder went, but knowing that we had to reach the roof of the palace from the ground floor, I wasn't expecting it to be a very quick climb.

By the time I finally felt the hatch at the top of the ladder, my arms and legs were cramped and aching and my breath was coming in hard gasps. I pushed the hatch above me which swung open with a deafening creak before opening with a crash onto the roof. I stumbled onto the smooth rock, temporarily blinded by the radiant sunlight compared to the dim passage below.

Eugene jumped out of the passage behind me with a dramatic sigh. "Remind me to never trust your experience with old blueprints because that was awful," he finished with a shudder. He was covered in dust, cobwebs caught in his hair. I suppressed a laugh, hoping I would be nearby when he finally got a look at himself.

"I'll keep that in mind," I responded with a smile as I brought out my notebook and began to survey the area. The roof above the display room was entirely flat with a large skylight in the center that sent rays of sunlight into the room below. It was an incredibly large area as well, placed between two of the palace towers. I shaded my eyes and looked up at the sun, mentally mapping out its course and exactly how much sunlight the roof received during the day.

I sat onto the roof below me with a huff, hunching over my notebook as I began sketching out my plans. Some specifics would have to remain a mystery until I fully planned out exactly what I would need and how much of it, plus just how much weight the roof could maintain without any danger of collapsing. Plus I would have to keep all construction of the area completely secret so the princess would realize...

"Exactly how much time do I have until this day of hearts?" I asked Eugene, biting my lip with concern.

"About two weeks, is that enough time?" oh no. Two weeks? For all of the planning and the execution?!

"Two weeks," I mumbled, my mind rapidly jumping from scheme to scheme in order to make this all come together. It would be close, but just maybe... "If you can keep the princess completely booked until then so I don't have to worry about her finding out then there might be some chance that I could get this done."

His entire face lit up, he rushed toward me and crushed me into a suffocating hug. I was smiling wide, my cheeks hurting from the effort even though I knew I would be stressed enough to want to completely disappear in these next two weeks. It would be worth it just to see the looks on their faces when they see it for the first time.

"Y/N," he started, holding me at arm's length so he could stare me down while he talked. "You are an absolute treasure and if you need absolutely anything from me ever, I will get it done. Promise," I laughed, rolling my eyes.

"Thanks, Eugene, I'll keep that in mind next time I need a test subject," I said with a sly smile as I walked back toward the edge of the roof, I could practically hear the blood drain from his face and tried my best to muffle a snicker. 

"We better not be going back through that tunnel," he called from behind me. "I said I wouldn't trust you and your old blueprints again and I meant it!" I rolled my eyes with a sigh, I wasn't even near the tunnel.

I turned back toward him with a smile, my back towards the edge of the roof, and the steep drop below. I felt nervous sure, but I pushed that aside. This would be so worth it. The fierce wind whipped through my hair, threatening my already awful balance. I took a deep breath.

"Don't worry Eugene, I had another idea and it will be much faster trust me," my grin grew even wider and I could see the confusion on his face go into shock and than fear as I held out my arms and let myself fall towards the ground below. I swallowed the scream that wanted to release itself from my throat, the swooping drop of gravity had left my stomach a few feet behind me. Finally, after what felt like far too long, I landed softly in a huge flower that had spontaneously grown in the lawn after I had casually thrown some seeds down as I was inspecting the roof.

I walked shakily from the huge flower, sneezing from the huge cloud of pollen that had flung up at my landing. I'm sure I looked a mess, covered in pollen with wild, wind-whipped hair. I shaded my eyes and looked up at the roof, a distance that now looked so far. Eugene was craning over the edge looking at me like I was absolutely insane. I let out a delirious laugh, the force of it making me bend double. I was right, definitely worth it.

Eugene looked livid for a moment, and then almost impressed. He looked down at the flower dubiously, before disappearing from the edge. He was gone for long enough where I wondered if he had decided to take the passage after all. Then his form rocketed from over the edge and he began plummeting with a shout. He landed in the flower, safe and sound, with another cloud of pollen.

He stood shakily, and I immediately burst into laughter. His hair was a mess, coated in cobwebs, and heavily dusted with pollen. He was covered entirely, from head to two in the yellow dust. He looked confused for a moment until he looked down.

"Oh come on!" he started pouting, then stormed off in a huff while grumbling something about how this was his 'favorite vest'. I shook my head with a smile before I remembered with a jolt exactly what I had just signed up for. I chewed on my lip as I flipped through my notebook, reviewing all of my plans and what exactly I would need. This was going to be a lot.

I began my walk toward the lab with a huff, I was going to need Varian's help, and a lot of it. I walked through the palace on autopilot, scribbling further thoughts and ideas into my notebook as I went. I pushed the door open to the lab and was immediately met with a thick cloud of acrid smoke. I started coughing, my eyes watering heavily as I covered my mouth and nose with my arm. I pushed through the lab toward his usual working station, finding Varian frantically moving between several shaking beakers each of them looking incredibly unstable.

He was wearing a mask that covered his entire face, the eyes of it glowing green. He was muttering to himself hurriedly as he dashed between the glowing beakers. I rolled my eyes as I tried to locate the source of the smoke. Finally, near the back corner of the lab, I found an overturned beaker leaking liquid onto a section of stone that was slowly dissolving.

I walked back to the lab bench, grabbed a mixture of electric blue, and poured it over the spilled solution. The two canceled each other out, and the stone immediately stopped dissolving and emitting smoke. I opened all of the windows and then worked my way back toward Varian, who still hadn't noticed my presence in the lab. I sighed with a smile as I watched him carefully balance a series of solutions.

"Varian," I said softly, trying not to startle him. He jumped with a small yelp, sending one of the beakers dangerously close to tipping over. I dashed over and caught it with a small laugh, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. He flipped up his mask and looked at me sheepishly, his cheeks red.

"Y/N! Hey! Sorry about all of this I was just...experimenting with something," he avoided my gaze. So he was obviously working on that secret project for the princess, well hopefully he wasn't too busy. "But anyway, what can I help you with!" he said with an eager grin.

"Well, how well can you keep a secret?" I asked with a sly smile as I sat down on a stool near the lab table. He gave me a conspiratorial grin, his eyes glinting eagerly.

"If it's for you, it won't leave this room," he responded, looking at me excitedly. I smiled, leaning in close.

"Well, I may or may not be working on a special present for the princess, from Eugene that needs to be ready in two weeks, and I could really use your help," I whispered. His entire face lit up.

"Of course!" he looked embarrassed and lowered his volume as he leaned back toward me. "I mean ya, sure, whatever you need." A huge smile stretched across my face and I clasped my hands in front of me happily.

"Really? You don't mind? It's a pretty big project, so I get it if you're too busy," I didn't want to make him feel like he was obligated to help me, he did have his own job to do after all.

"Pft," he waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, I have plenty of time to do this stuff. Plus this sounds exciting," My grin grew even wider and I jumped up and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Oh Thank you so much Varian! I didn't know how I was going to do this without you, this is going to be so much fun!" I finished happily. I released him from the hug and jogged quickly toward the door. Varian was stuck in shock, his face dark red. "Come on!" I said with a cry, and we both hurried out into the palace.


	15. Chapter 15

I was going to kill Eugene. Two weeks. He gave me two weeks to plan and create an entire rooftop garden fit for the princess?! How dare he...I took a deep breath, scattering my irritated thoughts, and going back to the plans I was still trying to finalize. I pictured the view in my head, knowing that with all of my ideas it would be spectacular, but something was off.

I sighed, standing from the bench I had been sitting on for what felt like hours. The greenhouse would be getting dark soon, and I was trying to limit my use of luminescent blooms and late nights outside. Looks like I would be moving into the library. Again. After I'd gotten all the information I needed to begin construction on the roof I mad sure it began immediately. Sending out orders for different rare and exotic plans discreetly without raising any questions was proving to be more difficult than I thought.

I smiled to myself as I pictured how happy Rapunzel would be when she finally saw it all. It would be worth it, of that I was certain. I grumbled to myself as I left the greenhouse, I would have to meet up with Eugene and run these plans past him before I could confirm anything, knowing him he was already coming up with some ridiculous and intricate addition that I would have to try and make room for. He was very enthusiastic, as his friend, I found it endearing, as the project manager I found it exhausting.

I wove my way through the halls toward the guards training area, Eugene should be there teaching his class right about now. Despite how much I try and talk to him, this is the only part of his schedule that he always seems to be reliable for. As expected, when I entered the dusty training area Eugene was giving a dramatic presentation to a mixed audience. Stan and Pete looked enthralled, the captain looked murderous. I chuckled to myself, leaning against the wall as I waited for him to finish.

With a theatrical flourish, he took a bow to awkward applause. I rolled my eyes as he caught sight of me and headed my direction, leaving the guards to resume their usual duty.

"Y/N! Just the person I wanted to see, I have some great new ideas for-" I cut him off with a raised hand, taking a deep breath.

"Eugene, I'm glad you have so many ideas to share with me, but we need to finalize this plan without any more last-minute additions. Please?" I gave him a pointed look and he deflated a little but ultimately nodded his agreement. "Good, now I wanted you to look over these plans so I could place some orders and start construction for the more intricate details," I said with a smile, bringing out the large roll of paper I had been using and handing it to him.

He grabbed it eagerly, unfurling the paper with an excited smile. His eyes darted across the page, taking in every detail as he furrowed his brow in concentration. Finally, he rolled the paper back up with a huge grin.

"Y/N, these are incredible. I can't thank you enough for doing this, blondie is going to be ecstatic," I couldn't help but smile back as he returned the paper to me.

"Wonderful, well since I have your permission I'll get everything started," I finished with a smile and a mock salute. He beamed at that and I rolled my eyes, knowing the gesture would go straight to his head.

Since we had planned the rooftop area, I had found a few different ways to make the area more accessible from commissioning a winding staircase hidden by vines and trees, to weight-bearing greenery that could be climbed if you were feeling like a challenge. I dashed up the staircase quickly, looking over the once barren roof that was now a rush of activity. Workers were bustling through the area carrying various building materials I had commissioned as quickly as possible, it wasn't exactly a cheap project but once the king and queen had been informed they were more than happy to provide the funds.

I took it all in with a smile before raising my fingers to my lips and letting out a piercing whistle that immediately paused all work. The workers stopped what they were doing and slowly funneled toward me to surround me in a loose circle.

"Alright everyone! I have finalized the plans, now we can start getting the real work going!" I finished with a celebratory cry, the men around me joined enthusiastically and I passed the plans off for them to coordinate and begin building. I watched them head back to their tasks with a grateful smile, happy that I could be surrounded by people dedicated to doing their jobs and doing it well. I gave them a final wave before heading back to the edge of the roof, I still had a lot to work on today.

I got a running start, leaping off of the roof with an excited yell. I crashed into the flower with a happy laugh, that would never get old. I dusted myself off with a giddy smile, the rush of adrenaline flowing through my body adding an extra bounce to my step as I headed back through the palace. Without Eugene knowing, I'd been getting some help from Cassandra as well. It was impossible to keeps something like this from her anyways and she was by far the most competent person I knew, so she was a big help.

However, I thought to myself as I paced through the palace corridors, locating Cassandra was next to impossible. That girl had every minute of the day planned out, and since she was the keeper of schedules no one but her knew where she would be at any given moment. My tactic was wandering the halls until she happened to pop up somewhere, it usually worked out.

"Hey, Y/N, you looking for me?" a voice called from directly behind me. I jumped, turning rapidly only to be faced with the smirking face of Cassandra. I laughed awkwardly, rubbing my neck as I felt my face flush.

"Oh, hey Cassandra you surprised me, yeah I have some orders that I'd like you to make if you had the time," I said, handing her a paper with the exact number and type of the plants I wanted and any other additional building materials. She looked over them, scanning each item quickly as her eyes darted across the page. She nodded after reaching the end of the list, looking back up to me.

"Sure, I'll get everything handled, is this everything you'll be needing?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ya it should be, the centerpiece is going to be something I create myself, all of these will fill in the majority of the space," I responded, running a hand through my hair as I pondered all of the work I had yet to do. How many days did I have left? I rapidly backtracked through the last few days. A week. I had one week left to bring everything together.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to find Cassandra giving me a small but reassuring smile. I took a deep breath, settling myself and smoothing over my frayed nerves, I had to trust myself and the people around me.

"You're doing a great job Y/N, you'll get it done I'm sure of it," she gave my shoulder a last squeeze before she hurried off down the palace hall to do yet another of her many tasks.

I smiled at her retreating form, pulling a notebook from one of my pockets and checking of the items on my list I wanted to have accomplished today. Until the plants arrived I should stay out of the construction area, no use in clogging up the space when I had nothing to do. Which left me with the rest of the day to experiment on my personal touch to the garden and any modifications I wanted to make to the incoming orders. I hurried to the lab with a smile, already ruching through ideas.

I burst through the door of the lab with a happy grin, surprised to not find it filled with smoke or in disarray from an explosion. I weaved my way through the shelves and tables towards Varian's usual working place. As always, he was flitting between beakers rapidly, adding strange powders or putting glowing liquids above intense flames. I eyed his silhouette fondly as I quietly walked over to my area, as much as I wanted to say hi I had learned my lesson about surprising him in the middle of his work.

After he had agreed to help me with the garden, I thought it would make more sense for me to conduct my experiments in the lab with him versus in the greenhouse where it could affect my other plants. I was worried I was intruding on his space but Varian had insisted that it was fine and had already set up a space for me by the next day. My table was across the room from his and by one of the few windows within the lab, it was covered with plants and seeds with huge books on botany scattered around the area.

I pulled up a stool to the table, looking over my previous notes on the other experiments I had already conducted. The centerpiece had to be a flower, I wanted it to appear white initially but to shimmer iridescent when exposed to sunlight, but that was all I had come up with. I had no clue about the size or appearance of the flower itself and everything I had imagined didn't feel right.

I held my head with a sigh, allowing myself a moment of frustration before I got back to work. I returned to my notes, scrawling a few additional ideas. I reached toward one of the huge books littering the floor around me, hefting it onto the table with a grunt. I flipped through the detailed and illustrated drawings of various flowers from around the world, looking for something that would stand out to me.

"Hey! Y/N!" I jumped, sending my stool tilting dangerously. My stomach dropped as I began to fall back toward the ground. I gasped, bracing myself for the fall. I crashed into something soft and warm, not the cold hard ground I had expected. I blinked my eyes open to look up at Varian gazing down at me sheepishly. I felt my face flush and scrambled to stand up out of his arms.

"Sorry about that Y/N, I didn't mean to scare you," he looked at me apologetically as I took a moment to settle myself.

"Oh, it's fine really," I said with a nervous laugh, my heart racing in my chest. " Thanks for catching me," I added with an awkward grin, feeling my face flush even darker. A matching blush rose on Varian's face as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ya, uh, no problem..." he trailed off into an awkward silence as we were both left with a loss of what to say. "So...How's the garden coming? Have any ideas about your addition?" he asked with a grin. I sighed, the familiar frustrations washing over me as I walked back to my table and sat down my stool.

"The garden is coming out wonderfully," I started with a sigh. "But I have no idea what I want my flower to look like. It has to be something special, but everything I look at just doesn't feel right," I finished with an agitated groan, resting my head in my hands.

"Hey," he started, resting a hand on my back. I turned my head to look at him, he was looking at me fondly with a sympathetic smile. "Maybe it's because all you're looking at are illustrations, not the real thing. Besides, I know you'll come up with something spectacular."

"Thanks, Varian," I responded with a smile, sitting up. "And you're right, I need to be around some real plants, things I haven't seen before," I rose from my chair, packing a few things in a satchel. I gave Varian an excited grin, the thrill of the journey taking me over. "So? Want to come with me?"


	16. Chapter 16

I tried not to laugh as I waited outside the lab, leaning against a wall. Varian apparently felt the need to pack everything he could think of before we went anywhere, which was sweet but entirely unnecessary. I heard a crash from inside the lab and couldn't help but snicker to myself.

"Varian!" I called out, "I hope you're not planning on bringing the entire lab!" I was joking, mostly.

"Just a minute!" another crash followed his cry and I couldn't help but wonder how he always managed to make a mess in there. All at once, he burst through the door with a backpack that looked bigger than him strapped to his back.

"Oh Varian," I said before I burst into laughter. He looked slightly offended before his face split into a grin. "We aren't going to be gone that long you know that right?"

"Yes, of course, I know that," he said, though his cheeks flushed slightly. I shook my head, gazing at him fondly before shrugging my shoulders and starting my way through the castle.

"Now, I'm specifically trying to go through this without having a plan or route in mind. I just want to try and see something new and different to hopefully give me some ideas, ok?" he nodded enthusiastically and I couldn't help but grin. God, my cheeks were going to start hurting if I kept smiling this much.

The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon as we left Corona and entered the forest. I took a deep breath, absorbing the sounds and smells of nature and life around me, this was a great idea.

"So Varian," I started, desperate to fill the growing silence. "What is it you spend all day working on in the lab anyway?" he immediately perked up, an excited glint entering his eyes.

"Well, I work on lots of different things, some of it is for the well...you know," he trailed off awkwardly, his eyes avoiding looking at me. Right, the secret project, the infamous thing I wasn't allowed to know about but had something to do with weird rocks around his town but other than that detail I hadn't learned anything. The thought of asking the princess about it to see if I could help had crossed my mind but I didn't want to get Varian in trouble for letting it slip.

"You know, that reminds me of something I wanted to ask you," he immediately tensed up, probably thinking I was going to ask about his secret mission. "Relax it isn't about that. So, you ruin a science fair, show the princess something, and then get hired as the royal alchemist? That seems a pretty far jump to make with some kid you'd just met," I said, quirking an eyebrow at him. He had scowled when I called him kid but now he had the distinct look of someone resisting memories they had mixed feelings about.

"Well I wasn't a stranger, we'd met before."

"Oh really?" I questioned with a smile. "Do tell." He gave me a pointed look before regaining that far off look in his eyes with a dreamy smile.

"It was just after her hair had grown back. Somehow Cassandra had heard of a," he scoffed, rolling his eyes as the word dropped out of his mouth. "Wizard that could help them. Well, when they showed up I told them that I am definitely not a wizard, I am an alchemist. Anyway, I hooked up the princess to one of my machines that would have been able to give me all kinds of helpful information on her hair. And then Flynn Rider showed up!" he sighed happily. I laughed fondly.

"So you helped the princess with her hair and then she knew you would be the perfect candidate to help her?" he cringed, his face scrunching up as he winced.

"Not exactly. See, the thing is, I had been working on a massive invention that would have rocketed Corona into a new era. Hot. Running. Water," he paused for effect, looking over at me to gauge my reaction. I was confused but, as I usually was with Varian, very impressed. He looked pleased with my response before continuing on, "I had installed machines throughout my village, I wanted to keep them a secret and reveal them in a huge surprise when they were done," he sighed ruefully as he looked down at the ground. "I thought they would be so impressed."

"What went wrong?" I asked softly.

"Flynn convinced me they were dangerous, that I should shut them off before anyone got hurt. He was right, of course. I spilled a highly reactive component and all of the machines exploded, they destroyed my village. It was a complete failure, and the look on my father's face when he realized it was all my fault," he laughed, but there was no joy in the sound. He wrapped his arms around himself. "He was so disappointed."

The sadness on his face made my chest hurt. I stopped walking and waited for him to notice. He paused a few steps in front of me. When he turned to face me he looked so small, so vulnerable.

"I'm so sorry Varian," I started, it felt like a weak response. I was at a loss, unsure of what to say to articulate how I felt. "I know this doesn't make it better, but I understand how it feels to disappoint someone you love," he looked doubtful and I sighed, leaving the path to sit on a fallen log, I patted the area next to me for him to sit.

"I was old enough that I should have known better, my mom was out working late again which left me with the house and greenhouse to myself. I thought it would be a good idea to conduct some experiments with my plants, I had been researching a lot in our library and was so excited about what I found I had left as soon as I finished the page. I was so wrapped up in my work I didn't even notice the smoke," a knot formed in my throat, tears pricked at the corner of my eyes from the memory. I kept speaking, barely above a whisper. "I must have left the candle lit around the books. By the time I finally saw the flames it was too late. It all happened so fast. My mom, she was screaming and crying, trying to break down the door. She thought I was in there, the entire house burned down in less than an hour," I paused struggling to finish. "But the worst part was that the last picture of my father was in there. All of his letters, the only things we had to remember him by. They were all lost." We huddled close together, Varian wrapped his arm around my shoulders as I sniffled at the memory. 

"I'm sorry Y/N," he said softly. I sat up, wiping my tears hurriedly.

"God, look at me, I didn't mean to make this all about me Varian," I sighed, ashamed, guilt stabbing into my gut. "Besides, your father must be proud of you, you're the royal alchemist. And whatever happens Varian, he'll still love you, because he's your dad," I tried to make my stunted words sound exactly how I meant them. Hoping the meaning would reach him even if I didn't have the words to express it.

"You haven't even met him, you don't know what he's like," Varian mumbled. He was looking at the ground, withdrawn into himself. I bit my lip, unsure. I slowly reached out a hand and rested it on his shoulder, he flinched at the touch but didn't move away.

"Well..." I started, searching for the right words. "He raised someone as amazing and brilliant as you. Varian, I haven't known you for very long but I can tell you one thing, in no world are you a disappointment. You are clumsy, curious, experimental, helpful, kind, supportive, and an incredible friend but you are not and will never be disappointing. I can promise you that," all at once his form shuddered, and I wondered if I had said the right thing.

He turned to me, tears flowing from his eyes, and collapsed into my arms, shuddering with the force of his sobs. We sat there for a while, me just holding him while he cried. I gently rubbed circles into his back and mumbled soothing words under my breath. His sadness made my chest ache, how long had he been holding on to this sorrow and guilt?

Slowly the force of his sobs weakened until he was sniffling softly. Gently I pulled away, my arms immediately feeling cold and empty. I help him at arms distance, carefully inspecting him. His eyes were red from crying, his cheeks blotchy, his face was covered in wetness from his tears. I brought my hands to his face, slowly wiping away all remaining tears. He sighed a little and leaned into my touch, I smiled at him fondly. He laughed a little and pulled away, rubbing at his eyes.

"Sorry, I guess I just really needed to hear that. I...Thank you, Y/N, really," he was gazing at me intensely now, the force of emotion behind his eyes made me blush.

"Of course, I'll always be here for you," I smiled softly at him, and we spent a moment just looking at each other. "Right," I said with a bright smile, jumping up from the log and extending out my hand to help him up. "Let's find something spectacular."

He smiled brightly, grabbing my hand and hauling himself up from the log. We continued down the trail, I pointed out every plant I could, listing out any interesting facts I thought of on the spot. When there weren't any new plants Varian filled the silence with stories of his experiments and the exact science that had inspired him to pursue each of them. The passion that would light up his face every time he spoke about alchemy was breathtaking. My face was sore from smiling after too long, my sides aching from laughter.

We were approaching a bend in the trail when I noticed a faint glow coming from a cave a ways off of the path. The light glimmered with a faint purple hue and I found myself drawn to its glimmering glow.

"Varian," I whispered, awestruck. "Look." I pointed toward the glow, and the spark of curiosity entered his eyes. I looked at him with an eager smile and we both began to make our way toward the strange glow.

The cave was small, hardly big enough for both me and Varian to look through the opening at the same time. I gasped when we pulled back the foliage covering the entrance. The entire floor of the cave was covered in small, shimmering flowers. I carefully fell to my knees to closer inspect them. Each bloom was the size of my thumbnail. The petals radiated in the shape of a star, each petal by itself was nearly translucent and layered to form a pale lilac color. The glow was coming from the center of the flower, each marked with the perfect image of a heart and three glowing pistols twining together in the middle.

"Wow," Varian whispered behind me, his voice filled with wonder. "They're beautiful."

"They're perfect," I added with a smile. I began carefully removing some blossoms and placing them in a sealed her back into my satchel. I made sure to leave the majority of the flowers, knowing I would be back here to inspect them more in the future. I looked at Varian, giddy at our discovery, his eyes softened when he looked at me and he offered me a hand to help me up.

I gladly took it, too absorbed in my excitement to even speak. I let out a happy shriek and tackled Varian into a hug. He laughed wrapping his arms around me. I felt as though I was full of new energy. I twirled around in a happy spin, before immediately feeling silly and blushing. I took a deep breath, making an effort to soothe the cloud of butterflies in my stomach. I broke from my cloud of euphoria when I noticed the pitch dark sky between the trees above me.

"Wow, I didn't realize how late it was, and we're a ways out of Corona..." I trailed off, gnawing on my lip. "I don't suppose you packed a tent somewhere in that backpack of yours?" I asked Varian. He shook his head and I sighed, sleeping on the forest floor would probably be fine right?

"Actually," Varian started, looking shy. "I know somewhere we can stay the night."

"Really? Where?"

"My village is pretty close by actually. We can stay the night at my house."


	17. Chapter 17

Old Corona reminded me a lot of home. In the dead of night, the entire village was asleep, not a single light shone from the windows. I took a deep breath, feeling all of the tension and manic energy that had been building inside me dissipate. It was so calm here, so quiet, the only noise coming from chirping crickets and the wind through the fields of wheat that stretched behind some of the houses.

Varian looked like he was sneaking into the palace to steal the crown jewels. His eyes darted frantically about, he was wringing his hands in front of himself, his shoulders were hunched and tense.

"Hey," I said gently, laying a hand on his shoulder. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to." he shook his head, making an effort to relax his shoulders and settle his hands.

"No, it's fine. I was going to have to come back here and face everything eventually, I'm just glad I don't have to do it alone," I offered him a reassuring smile, squeezing his shoulder before we continued through the village.

I could see signs that it was rebuilding. Some houses still had canvas covering sections left to the open air, the ground itself had deep gauges in it throughout the street, pieces of metal and shrapnel were still embedded in some places. I kept myself from looking over at Varian, I was sure the constant reminders of his mistake wouldn't be doing any favors for his confidence. But that's what I was here for, to support him and help him in any way I could.

We paused at the end of the dirt street in front of a house that looked to be central to the town. Varian slowly walked up the front steps and paused at the door. He raised a hand to knock and I found myself holding my breath in anticipation. He let out a tense sigh before letting his knuckles rap sharply at the door. A light flickered on in one of the windows and the sounds of someone moving within the house echoed through the door. I moved up to stand beside Varian at the doorstep, letting my hand rest lightly on his arm.

A man grumbled from behind the door and suddenly it pulled open with a faint creak. The man who opened the door was tall with the same dark hair as Varian though his was streaked with grey, his face had deep creases that made him look intensely and suspiciously focused on whatever he looked at, his mouth was naturally downturned into a frown. His dark eyes swept over me before they landed on Varian, and all his features softened slightly.

"Varian," his voice was low and rough. He said Varian's name as though it was a statement. 

"Hi, Dad," Varian responded, his voice sounding small. he had hunched within himself, wrapping his arms around his middle and refusing to look at his father. His dad sighed and stepped out of the doorway, ushering us both inside. It was a simple home, kept clean and without many possessions to fill the space. In the darkness of night, it felt hollow and lonely.

We awkwardly sat on some of the chairs in the dining room, huddling around the small wooden table. The silence stretched on as I tried not to squirm in my seat.

"Sorry to come barging in so late at night sir," I finally said, hoping to relieve some of the tension that held thick in the air. His father turned his piercing gaze on me and I resisted the urge to shrink back from his intense glare.

"Quirin, please. And my door is always open to Varian and his friends, though I don't think we have been properly introduced," his voice had the subtle thrum of power and authority to it that made you want to sit up straight when you were being directly addressed, his dad must be the leader of the village. I put a small smile on my face, determined to make a good impression.

"Y/N," I responded, sticking out my hand across the table. "Pleasure to meet you," Quirin released an amused huff of breath before reaching out to shake my hand.

"You as well, how do you know my son?" I felt the smile grow on my face as I released his hand and some of the tension drain from the room.

"I work with him at the palace as his assistant, among other jobs. He's a brilliant alchemist," Quirin huffed again, shaking his head, but he was smiling. I turned to Varian with a grin, he was looking at me like I was from another planet. I looked at him quizzically and he abruptly shifted his focus back to his dad.

"So Varian, what makes you show up in Old Corona in the middle of the night?" Quirin shifted his focus back to Varian, who looked nervous before taking another deep breath.

"Me and Y/N were out looking for materials and lost track of time, I thought we could stay the night here?" he looked at his father nervously, Quirin nodded his head in agreement and Varian nearly melted in his chair.

"Quirin, if you don't mind could you show me where I will be sleeping tonight? I want to set up my stuff," Quirin nodded and pointed me toward the guest room. I stood, thanking him before I leaned toward Varian and whispered so only he could hear. "You two should talk, I'll be in the guest room if you need me." And with that, I headed toward the room and left them to hopefully talk through things.

The guest room was as simple and sparse as the rest of the house, but I didn't mind. I sighed, taking off my satchel and setting it on the floor beside the bed before I fell into it with a huff. This day had dragged on for a lot longer than I had thought it would. I closed my eyes, absorbing the quiet noises of the night and the faint sounds of conversation from the dining room.

Before I'd even realized I had fallen asleep I was waking up again. The dim light of the sun was just rising over the horizon and the sounds of activity throughout the village filtered in through my window. I smiled sleepily as I got up, stretching my arms above my head with a series of faint pops from my spine. I padded out into the dining area with a yawn, rubbing my eyes. Quirin was seated at the table looking over a series of papers that looked to be plans for the reconstruction of the town.

He turned quickly to face me and I smiled, blinking slowly.

"Good morning," I said with another yawn. He shook his head with a smile turning back to the papers. "Has Varian woken up yet?"

"No, he went to bed pretty late last night so I thought I would let him sleep," I nodded. Standing there for a moment, letting myself slowly wake up.

"Have you had breakfast yet? I was going to make something if that's alright," I said eyeing the kitchen. The familiar pangs of hunger stabbed through my stomach. Quirin shrugged, which I took as a yes.

The kitchen was small and quaint, I smiled as I took in all of the natural light that filtered into the room. I flitted about the kitchen, scavenging whatever I could find before I started anything. I took a look at the mismatched assortment for a moment with a furrowed brow before a smile spread onto my face. Soon the sounds and smells of cooking surrounded me and I lost myself in the careful focus of properly putting a meal together. I carefully divided the food onto three plates with a smile.

I put away the remaining food where I had found it and went back into the dining area where I carefully set the plates in front of each seat. Quirin looked up in surprise as I placed the steaming plate of eggs, bacon, and pancakes in front of him with a smile. He blinked for a moment.

"Thanks," he said with a grunt and I nodded. I carefully climbed the stairs and walked until I found what I imagined to be Varian's door. It was stained with various colors and had some mysterious burn marks in places. I knocked only to be met with an exaggerated groan. I laughed, rolling my eyes.

"Varian! If you don't get up now your breakfast is going to get cold!" I got another groan in responded and I chuckled, smiling fondly at the door before heading back downstairs.

Quirin was still huddled over the plans, occasionally taking a bite of food as he studied them. I sat behind one of the plates, enjoying my food in silence as I mentally went over the plan for the day. We'd head back to Corona and I would have to check in with the progress of construction on the roof, answering any questions they had. Then I'd track down Cassandra and make sure the orders are all in progress, all that would be left to do after that would be to start examining and experimenting with the flowers we'd found last night.

I looked up from my food, idly studying the plans as I thought through my day. I furrowed my brow, focusing on the plans.

"You know," I started, slightly nervous I would be overstepping. "It looks like reconstruction on your town is slowing because of limited building materials, I could help with that if you like," I looked up to gauge his reaction. He raised an eyebrow at me quizzically. "I'm a botanist," I clarified. He sighed, looking back to the plans with a frown.

"What would you have in mind?" he looked wary, which was understandable. I stood from the table, heading back to my room and grabbing my satchel before going out the door and motioning Quirin to follow me. He got up reluctantly and followed me outside.

I paused for a moment on the doorstep before heading to a clear and open area a few feet away from the house. I dug in my satchel, finding the seeds I was looking for and adding them to a mixture that shimmered green in the sunlight. I placed them on the ground and covered them in a thin layer of dirt before giving them a wide berth and pulling Quirin back with me. He looked slightly nervous and I laughed.

"It won't explode, promise," I added with a grin. When sprouts began to grow abnormally fast from where I had placed the seeds his whole face contorted with surprise. Within moments a fully grown pine tree stood tall from the spot. Quirin was speechless and I couldn't help but laugh. "Here," I said, handing him a jar of seeds and a tall container of the mixture. "Three seeds at most in one spot and add as much mixture as you want depending on how tall you want the tree to be, ok?" Quirin nodded, looking at the things I'd given him as though the were going to start growing in his hands.

I went back into the house to find Varian sleepily eating breakfast, his eyes barely opened. I shook my head, smiling at him fondly before sitting next to him to finish my meal. We sat there in comfortable silence as he slowly came to his senses. Quirin didn't come back inside and I assumed he had other projects to attend to around the village.

"So how did your talk go last night?" I finally asked. Varian looked at me with a small shy smile that I couldn't help but return.

"Well, I said how sorry I was that I put myself and everyone else in danger and he said that he knew I had good intentions but he just wanted me to be more careful. He also said that he thought I had great ideas but I needed to have someone with me to look out for me before I did anything dangerous," he avoided my gaze at the last part, his face flushing. I smiled happily, a glow of pride bubbling in my chest.

"That's great Varian. Hey while we're here we should look at some of the grain stores so I can confirm my theory on that grain disease and create something preventative when we get to Corona," In all the rush of new projects and discoveries I'd nearly forgotten about it, but now was the prime opportunity for me to collect some samples.

"Ya!" he responded with a grin, an excited glint entering his eye. "I can give you the full tour of the village," he added, the excitement and energy only growing in his voice. I laughed, Corona could wait a few hours right?

He finished his breakfast in a flash, grabbing his stuff and leading me outside as quickly as he could manage. Walking through town Varian made sure to point out anything and everything he could, he got some wary stares as we passed but he was so wrapped up in his excitement he didn't seem to notice. By the time we reached the edge of the village where it turned into rolling fields, I felt like I could ace a quiz on Old Corona. Varian led me toward a grain silo and I dug in my satchel to fetch a notebook as we entered. Most of the grain within looked normal, but some of it had turned dark and crumbled into a cloud of cloying dust in my hands.

I scribbled a few notes in my journal, focusing entirely on the grain in front of me and trying to take note of any and every detail that could be relevant. I collected a small sample and put it carefully back into my bag. I hummed a little to myself as I put the rest of my things away. With a sigh I stood, we should probably start heading back to Corona.

Suddenly a dark spire of rock shot up from the ground in front of me. I jumped back with a scream, crashing into Varian and nearly sending both of us tumbling to the ground. My heart was going wild in my chest, it felt as though it would burst. I scrambled out of the silo, dragging Varian with me until I felt we were a far enough distance away. I brought my hands up to my face, focusing on taking deep breaths.

"Y/N, are you okay?" Varian questioned softly, concern evident on his face.

"Ya," I gasped. "Ya, I'm okay, just on edge." He let out a frustrated groan, running a hand through his hair.

"It's gotten worse..." he mumbled to himself looking troubled.

"What has? Has this happened before?" he looked hesitant, anxiously bring his lip before he seemed to relent with a sigh.

"Yes, I have. It's actually..Well...It's my mission for the princess. I didn't want to have to drag you into it but now, well, now that you've seen them," he looked nervous but my mind was in a whole other place. A dark castle illuminated with a blue glow that held a solitary man.

"Varian," I whispered, my eyes wide. "I've seen these rocks before, in visions."


	18. Chapter 18

Varian just looked at me for a moment, he seemed frozen in shock, just staring at me. I shifted nervously, I knew he would be asking questions. They would be the same ones I have been asking myself and I would have none of the answers.

"You've...Seen visions," he repeated softly to himself, seeming to slowly start processing what I had said. All of a sudden his eyes lit up, seeming to come alive with excitement. "So you must know something about them! And now that you know we can tell the princess and you can help us!" he looked at me eagerly, his face falling a little when he caught my expression. I sighed.

"I don't know Varian, I don't know much about them. Everything is so jumbled and confusing. I'd rather if we just kept this between us if that's ok until I have a moment to think again after I'm not so busy," I looked up at him anxiously. He gave me a small sad smile before nodding his head, I sighed with relief. I sat on the ground with a huff, the stress, and adrenaline of the last few moments exhausting me. Varian sat next to me on the ground, he looked into the distance seemingly lost in thought.

"It's strange coming back here after everything that's happened," he said, still gazing out into the horizon. "And now with the rocks showing up here...I feel like the two worlds in my life are crashing together." I looked at him sadly, leaning my head onto his shoulder as we looked into the distance.

"You should stay here, it's your home. Besides, we don't know what these black rocks are but we know they're not good," I refused to look at him as I spoke, it was true, he should stay. But the thought of returning to Corona alone sent an ache through my chest. He shifted, and I was forced to look up at him. When I met his gaze he seemed to be searching my face for something, his eyes darted across my features before staring intently into my eyes. I felt my cheeks flush, his expression settled on a determined frown.

"No, I promised I would help you with the gift for the princess remember? I won't leave Corona until after the Day of Hearts," He offered me a small grin, but I couldn't mask the concern on my face.

"Are you sure Varian? You shouldn't stay in Corona just because you said you would help me, this is a completely understandable reason to go home, I won't hold it against you," he shook his head, still smiling softly.

"I'm sure, I made a promise and I'm going to keep it," I smiled back at him as I got to my feet.

"Alright then, we better head back to Corona. Do you need to say goodbye to your dad?"

"No, he knows we were going to leave today. He isn't very fond of goodbyes anyway."

"Alright, then we should head out," I offered him my hand, which he took with a smile as I hauled him to his feet. We dusted ourselves off and started to head back through Old Corona toward the path that would take us back to the palace. I took a last look at the abandoned barn as we walked into the forest, the sharp sense of foreboding that lingered in my stomach made me wrap my arms around myself defensively. Something about those rocks just didn't sit right, but I didn't have the time to focus on it now.

The trip to Corona was almost entirely silent, my mind was racing with the memory of my vision and the impending deadline of the gift for the princess. Before I knew it the shining outline of Corona came into view, glowing in the golden sun as cheerful as ever. It was like nothing had changed when I felt I had just been dealt a huge blow. I pushed open the doors of the palace with a sigh, the natural comfort of the familiar space washing over me. I looked to Varian with a smile, he returned it full force.

"Hey Varian, could you go talk with Cassandra and confirm that everything is going smoothly with construction? I'm going to check in with Eugene and then start working in the lab," His smile brightened at the mention of Cassandra and he nodded enthusiastically, sending me a mock salute as he started through the halls.

"Y/N! You're back! That's wonderful!" I jumped at the sudden voice from behind me, turning and striking out in the rush of adrenaline. I turned to find Eugene standing behind me rubbing his shoulder and pouting at me. I ran my hand over my face, exhaling quickly.

"Sorry Eugene, you startled me," he raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

"I can see that, where are you sending Varian off to?" I rolled my eyes at him with a smile and started through the hallways, prompting him to follow.

"I asked him to check with Cassandra on the progress of construction and orders," he made a face at her mention and I rolled my eyes at him. The infamous hatred between them wasn't news to me, but I never understood why they hated each other so much.

"Oh well good luck getting him to focus on anything with her around, I'll never understand what he sees in that ice queen," I kept my face blank, though a shard of fear stabbed through my stomach.

"What do you mean?" Eugene crossed in front of me, walking backward so he could look at me while he talked. He looked thrilled at the fact I didn't know if a little incredulous.

"Really? You haven't noticed how he gets all starry-eyed around her? Varian has had a crush on Cassandra for as long as I've known him, it's sweet even if I don't understand it at all," I felt my heart sink low in my chest. I pasted a smile on my face, hoping it didn't look as fake as it felt.

"Oh, no I uh...I hadn't noticed," My voice sounded strained even to myself and I winced a little as Eugene gave me a strange look. I wasn't the best at hiding my emotions, but I'd never had a reason to try to before. "Anyway, I should let you know that I found what I'm going to create for Rapunzel's garden. I was headed to the lab right now to start working on it," Eugene's face immediately lit up, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Really Y/N? That's great! Well, I wouldn't want to distract you from your creative process. So I'll leave you to your flower inventing, or whatever it is you do exactly, bye!" I rolled my eyes with a fond smile as I pushed open the door to the lab. I Immediately started coughing as a sharp acrid smell burned my nostrils and throat. I rubbed my eyes, confused and dazed at the sudden burn. Clearly, Varian had beat me back to the lab.

I wandered back to our work area, the smell getting more intense as I got closer to Varian's workspace. He was hunched over his lab table, grumbling and working furiously. I eyed him quizzically for a moment, his shoulders were tense, a furrow between his eyebrows showing the depth of his concentration and frustration. He was clearly in an awful mood, but he had been fine only a moment ago. I shook my head with a sigh, I walked up behind him, reaching over his shoulders to grab the vials in his hands so he couldn't spill them. He jumped a little, looking back in surprise only to relax when he saw my face.

"Ok Varian, what happened?" I could feel his shoulders tense as he looked away from me defensively. I sighed again, setting down the vials to wrap my arms around him and rest my head on his shoulder. "I'm not moving until you tell me, and do you really want to be responsible for me not being able to work on my gift to the princess?" I teased him, a smile on my face. He huffed out a small laugh, the tension slowly draining from his shoulders as he sighed in defeat.

"It's silly..." he said, trailing off while still avoiding my gaze. I rolled my eyes as I wrapped my arms around him tighter.

"Whatever it is is obviously important if it has you this worked up," I stated matter-of-factly in response. He sighed again, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Well, have you ever been jealous of someone you never even really had a chance with?" I froze, panic making my heart race. I took a deep breath, forcing my muscles to react even as adrenaline made my heart feel like it was about to burst out of my chest.

"Yes, why do you ask?" I forced the words out, hoping they didn't betray the whirlwind of emotions racing through me.

"It's just that...Someone I admired, that I wanted to impress and to like me seems to be interested in someone. And I've never been jealous before! I don't even know what to do with it, and it's not like I had any expectations for the two of us. Not realistic ones anyway..." He trailed off again, looking hurt and confused. I looked at him sadly, nestling my head further into his shoulder and drawing him close in a comforting embrace.

We sat there for a moment, as I tried to leave all traces of my panic behind me. He was talking about Cassandra, of course, who else would it be? The idea of Cassandra interested in anyone was a strange thought, especially considering how focused she was on her job and ambitions, she didn't seem like the type to want to leave any room for romantic endeavors. Though I didn't know her especially well, so that didn't mean much.

"Well, are you sure you've interpreted the whole thing correctly? Maybe you misread something in the situation. And even if you didn't, feeling jealous and upset is perfectly understandable, you're handling it much better than me," I said with a smile. I knew he would take the bait, and I didn't have to wait long. He laughed a little, pulling away so he could face me with a quizzical and curious look.

"Okay, now you have to tell me," he said with a smirk. I sighed, my cheeks burning as I recalled the memory, still as embarrassing as ever.

"Back in my village, there were only so many people around my age. There was this boy named Thomas that I was completely infatuated with for years. He was nice and funny, and one of the only people that could handle my ranting about botany. But then a new family moved in, and they had this wonderful daughter named Helen. She and Thomas hit it off and started dating. I was a mess, I locked myself up in my greenhouse and avoided them both like the plague. I would literally run if I saw either of them, it was embarrassing and pathetic. Eventually, they both had enough and confronted me about it, I completely lied and made up some story about being jealous that she was stealing him away from our friendship. Thomas made me spend time with Helen, and we became amazing friends. Everything worked out, but they never let me live it down and neither of them knows the real reason I avoided them," I avoided his gaze, my cheeks a flaming red. I recalled the image of Thomas and Helen together, the perfect couple, and my heart ached a little as it always did.

"Well, to be fair, I'm only handling it so well because I have an amazing friend to help me," Varian said, trying to catch my gaze. I looked up at him with an appreciative smile. He smiled back, though I caught a flash of an emotion I didn't recognize in his eyes.

"Right," I said, looking away, sure that my face was even redder than before. "I'll be right here if you need me, anytime. But now I really have to get to work."


	19. Chapter 19

I huffed in frustration as I pushed away from my work table. I stood slowly with a groan, my muscles aching from having stayed in the same place for so long. I had dedicated myself entirely to creating the flower for the past few days. The day of hearts was just around the corner and the only thing that was preventing me from imploding with the stress of it all was the support of Varian, Cassandra, and Eugene. I took a deep breath, releasing all the tension that had built up as I allowed my mind to wander. I cracked my eyes open, eyeing the fragile bud on my table warily. It was time to move it to the garden.

I grabbed the pot I had placed it in and began my walk toward the outside stairs. I quickened my pace, eager to see it all come together, after all the hard work I had put into making the garden perfect this would be the last piece. A smile broke out across my face as I raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time in my race to make it to the top. I reached the rooftop out of breath, my heart racing in my chest and sweat gathering on my brow. I turned my face toward the sun, relishing the warmth and the cool breeze that lifted my hair from my neck, setting it fluttering into my face. I blew at the strands halfheartedly as I walked toward the center of the garden.

I looked out over the garden, pride rushing through me. It was nearly finished, the final touches all that was left. The garden unfolded with a circle in the center, stretching out into various curving platforms like a flower or the symbol of Corona. Lush green vines wove around one side to create an enclosed and shady area filled with small flowers and soft grass that would stay year-round. A small pond filled with lily pads and brightly colored fish filled most of the center circle, the rest being filled with a few benches and dark green bushes with a small central patch of dirt reserved for the final addition. I smiled, spinning around and taking in the snapdragons, roses, the daisies and calla lilies, the lotus blossoms, and hydrangeas. It was perfect, just how I imagined it. 

I made my way to the central flower bed, taking a trowel from my satchel and delicately planting my flower within it. I smiled at it fondly, drawing a shimmering golden vial and sprinkling a few drops on the bud. Slowly, the bud grew and unfurled to reveal pale purple petals that were nearly translucent and shimmered like glass, the veins were visible and glittered with a golden glow in the sunlight. I clasped my hands happily, picturing its beauty as it would glow with a gorgeous light after the sunset. The Triumph of the Eclipse. A dramatic name for a flower, that was true, but it was a dramatic thing and I did tend to overdo it when I got to name my creations.

I spun around, absorbing the beauty and reveling in the sight of a job well done. I gave the garden a last longing look before racing off the edge of the roof. I brushed the pollen off my skirt and stretched my sore muscles. I took a deep breath of fresh air, relieved to finally be out of the castle and outside again. The sharp salty smell of the sea drifted up from the docks and I wrinkled my nose at its sharp scent. I decided to leave the palace and spend some of my day wandering the village.

The village surrounding the palace was as bustling and lively as always, the chatter of being surrounded by people living out their everyday routines filling the air. Salespeople stood in front of stands and stores, calling out their wares in booming voices, the called in the crush of the crowd, trying to pull anyone they could out of the group. I gazed at the cobblestones beneath my feet, knowing that meeting their eyes was a one-way ticket to being dragged into a sales pitch.

I wove through the crowd, avoiding the darting children chasing each other through the streets and the various clusters of slow old ladies chattering loudly. Suddenly, the booming sound of music filled the street, bouncing off of the homes and storefronts to ring in my ears. The tune made me perk up, my eyes darting around to find the source. Ahead of me in one of the overcrowded square, a band had set up and couples swung around on the cobblestones. I couldn't help but smile at the carefree laughter and joy radiating from the area and started to make my way toward the crowd.

I ended up stuck behind a group of very tall men and lost sight of the square, I rolled my eyes and grumbled to myself in frustration as I desperately searched for a way around them. Spotting a small gap I raced through and pushed my way between the crowd, only to find myself in the middle of an empty circle. I felt my face flush red as dozens of faces turned toward me expectantly. Oh god. I looked around the circle desperately, only to realize that not only did I not know anyone here but they would have no reason to know me. 

I took a deep breath, settling my nerves, and letting the tension drain away. I looked toward the band, they gazed at me grinning widely. I shook my head, laughing, I couldn't believe I was going to do the. I rolled my shoulders back and puffed out my chest.

"Play something fast!" I called to the band, silently cheering that my voice didn't shake. They looked at each other and nodded a moment later, smiling in my direction."Ok," I whispered softly to myself as the band readied their instruments. "You can do this."

With a flourish, they launched into a frenzied tune that swept through the square like wildfire. I laughed, turning my head up to the sky and closing my eyes. I threw my hands up into the air swirling them around me in time with the music, I flung my hands toward the crowd and brought them back to my chest like the flow of the tides. I laughed, launching my body into the air and landing in a crouch where I swept my leg in a rapid circle that brought my skirt close to my body before I stopped and it was flung into a blooming circle. I closed my eyes, letting my body move to the rapid time of the music.

I was out of breath and sweating but I couldn't dream of stopping now. I smiled as I thought of my mom teaching me to dance in our cramped house, her gently guiding my arms into the correct positions and teaching me how to stay in time with the music no matter its tempo. Suddenly the music changed, and I stood still for a moment, my head tilted to the side as I listened carefully.

It was slower now, a creeping enchanting rhythm that drew you in close. I smiled wide. I adjusted my stance, crouching low to the ground and letting my hands slowly outline the shape of my body, I swung in a slow circle, emphasizing the movement of my hips as my arms flung out to the sides. I tensed for a moment in preparation, it was an ambitious move considering how long it had been since I properly practiced, but the time was right. I flung my hands toward the sky and fell back, letting my weight carry me into a controlled flip that sent me bounding into the air with a cry of victory.

I opened my eyes, out of breath, and ecstatic as the music drew to a close. The circle of faces around me was frozen in stunned expressions and I felt my face flush as I looked down toward the cobblestones, embarrassed. All out once the entire crowd burst into riotous applause, I smiled, my face burning a bright red as I took an awkward bow. All at once, I was surrounded by people as they asked frantically about where I had learned to dance. I couldn't stop smiling, my cheeks were aching by the time I answered all of their questions and broke free of the crowd.

I sat down on a crate, leaning my head back and catching my breath. My muscles would be aching and sore later but now they were humming from the recent activity and the flood of adrenaline through my system. A perfectly cool breeze blew past, cooling my sweaty face as I groaned in relief. Someone cleared their throat in front of me and I cracked my eyes open sleepily. I caught a blurry online of messy hair and the shine of goggles in the sun before I jumped up, immediately alert.

"Varian! Hi!" My voice cracked and I winced. I frantically sat up on the crate only to bang my head on the wall behind me I groaned, bringing my hand up to gingerly poke the back of my head. "Ouch" Varian winced in sympathy and sat next to me on the crate. There was a beat of awkward silence and then he cleared his throat again.

"I didn't know you could dance," he started. I looked over at him immediately my face flushing. His cheeks were red and he was looking pointedly into the crowd and away from me.

"So you saw that huh?" I said, groaning from embarrassment. He looked over at me and laughed, rolling his eyes fondly.

"Oh please, you were incredible Y/N. Honestly, I've never seen anyone move like that," his eyes widened a little, as though he had given something away and his eyes darted back toward the square.

"Thanks," I said awkwardly, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees. "So what are you doing in town?" Now it was his time to sigh and lean back. His eyes slid closed as he tilted his face toward the sun, the light illuminating the probably hundreds of freckled sprinkled generously across his face. His eyebrows drew together, a small furrow wrinkling his otherwise peaceful expression.

"You know, you never asked who it was I was jealous about the other day," he was stalling, I smiled at him fondly, turning my gaze to focus on a group of girls happily braiding each others hair.

"I figured you would tell me if you wanted to. I'm sure by now you know that you can come to me for anything you feel comfortable talking about, but I wasn't going to pressure you. Of course, that doesn't mean I wasn't incredibly curious," I added with a wide smirk as I glanced back at him. His eyes were barely open and he snickered at my expression.

"I still think it's silly and embarrassing but..." he trailed off, then sat up suddenly with a groan. He rested his head in his hands, I smiled and patted his back. "Rapunzel and Flynn are going on a double date with Cassandra and her boyfriend tomorrow." I sat there for a moment, contemplating and rubbing circles into his back.

"Ok, and what exactly are you having a problem with?" he sat up looking at me incredulously, he threw his hands in the air with a dramatic huff.

"They're going on a date! Both of them! Together! On the day of hearts! What do you mean what do I have a problem with!?!" I laughed fondly, gently grabbing his hands, and placing them back into his lap.

"What I mean Varian, is what about the situation has you upset? That our friends are hanging out without you? That Cassandra has a boyfriend?" I kept the smile on my face even as the last question sent a jolt through me. He looked at me a moment and then sighed, the energy draining out of him as he deflated back into a resting position.

"I don't know," he finally mumbled. "I mean, I'm sad I won't get to hang out with them, but I already assumed at least Flynn and Rapunzel had couple plans. And I don't know what I expected with Cassandra in the first place. I don't know, maybe it's because that whenever these kinds of things happen I end up by myself." he looked defeated. I hummed to myself as I looked back toward the square.

"You know Varian," I started nonchalantly, keeping my face carefully neutral. "There is a key component missing from your logic."

"Really?" he replied, doubt laced in his tone as he raised an eyebrow at me. "And what is that?"

"Me. I don't have any plans for tomorrow you know." Despite my efforts, a faint blush still dusted my cheeks. After a moment of silence, I dared a glance at Varian. He was looking at me wide-eyed, speechless and sputtering, a dark flush making his entire face go red.

"Oh," he finally squeaked out, his voice higher than normal. "Oh, uh, well then, does that mean? Are you? Should I uh," He looked like his brain had short-circuited and I felt my heart drop into my stomach. Right, I was being silly.

"Don't worry about it Varian," I said briskly, brushing off some imaginary dirt from my skirt as I stood. "I shouldn't have said anything, hope you have a nice day of hearts, goodbye," I rushed away from the square, getting lost in the crowd. I wrapped my arms tightly around my middle and marched forward determinedly, shoving the crushing turmoil of my emotions out of my brain. I was done.


	20. Chapter 20

I ran through the village in a blur, the whirlwind of my emotions blinding my eyes from processing anything from the world around me. How could I be so stupid and naive? I wrapped my arms tightly around myself, pushing away the brunt of my emotions and focusing on the rhythmic sound of my feet against the cobblestones. I don't know what I expected to happen, I should have known better in the first place.

I entered the palace grounds in a rush, racing along the paths and praying that no one would see me. The last thing I needed was someone with their overbearing sympathy treating me as though I was about to shatter. I brought a hand up to my face and let out a frustrated groan at the wetness I felt, why was I even crying? I ran into the greenhouse with a stuttering sigh, slamming the door behind me.

And just like that, the weight of everything I had been pushing away crashed down on top of me. I collapsed onto the ground with a sob, holding my face in my hands and curling up into a tight ball. I couldn't stop the moment being replayed behind my eyelids, Varian's eyes widening in shock, his hands twisting together nervously, his entire body tensing up. He hadn't said a word, but he didn't need to, it was obvious that my suggestion had made him nervous and uncomfortable at the very least.

I pushed the tears away, refusing to let myself wallow in needless misery. I sat up, focusing on taking deep breaths until the hiccup was gone and I no longer sniffled. I stood up shakily, rubbing the last of the tears from my face and making a silent promise to myself that from this point on I wouldn't allow myself to expect something that was simply not going to happen.

I shook my head, irritated at the crush of thoughts that pushed to be acknowledged in my brain. I cast my gaze about the room, determined to find something to focus on, and clear my head. The greenhouse looked so different now than when I had first discovered it, all the plants were now in organized sections and had been trimmed so that they weren't running wild throughout the room, the crush of weeds and various greenery that had overtaken the stone paths had been removed and the broken panes of glass in the roof replaced. It still retained a bit of its rustic charm but had become significantly more manageable. I allowed myself a small proud smile as I walked along the paths and admired my hard work.

I found myself back in the courtyard, ever since I had discovered the secret room beneath I had been too busy to properly explore it. I hadn't even had the chance to share its discovery with anyone else, I had meant to tell Varian but now I was glad of the fact I had a secret place to retreat to all my own. I opened the secret staircase with a relieved sigh, the scent of dust and age rising to greet me from the dim passageway. I entered the passage slowly, running my hands along with the old worn stone of the wall. After the first few steps, I felt a small rise in the rock, like a button, and pressed on it. With a groan, the passage began to grind shut above me.

I pushed down the panic that arose within me at the sight of my exit closing. It's ok, I reassured myself, the same button will open up the passage when I'm ready to leave, besides this way it actually is a secret. I took a deep breath and returned to my slow descent into the cavern below. The staircase was illuminated with the soft golden light of the luminescent flowers I had planted before, the familiar glow brought a smile to my face. The last time I had been here, I had been so excited with the thrill of discovery I hadn't paid any attention to the detailed paintings on the staircase wall.

They had faded over time and were covered in a dense cover of climbing vines. It looked to be a mix of detailed diagrams and pictures with a strange language I'd never seen before annotating many of the images. I furrowed my brow, lightly brushing my hands over some of the strange symbols. After a moment I continued down the stairs, determined to make a more thorough inspection of the space this time. 

Before long, the familiar sight of the rows of jars and bookcases stretched out before me. I hurried to the desk, running my hands lovingly over the ancient journal I had been so absorbed in before, it was as detailed and gorgeous as ever. Giddy energy suffused my body, an excited smile lighting up my face. Eager questions flitted through my mind, who had created this place? How old was it? Why had it been abandoned? I twirled around, taking in the seemingly endless stretch of discovery around me.

My heart was racing in my chest, energy flowing through me and making me restless. I carefully looked down the rows ahead of me, where could I possibly start? Taking a deep breath, I strode down the center aisle. The shelves stretched above me, making the top few nearly impossible to see from the ground. This particular row was mostly jars, each carefully labeled in the same loopy scrawl as the journal.

I turned toward the shelf to my left, sitting gently on the ground and examining the bottom shelf. In my personal experience, I had found that the bottom shelves often held the most interesting information, as it was the place the fewest people chose to look. The section of shelving before me was crammed full of vials and beakers of various sizes, most filled with exotically colored liquid. I grabbed a tiny round vial filled with a deep sapphire mixture, it was coated thickly with dust, which I quickly wiped away.

The label was small, and the writing faded. I held the vial closer to my eyes, squinting hard to make out the writing. #3250 Containment. I reread the writing, confused, Containment? What did that even mean? I put the vial back and grabbed another, this one a deep green. #3261 Insight. What? I let out a frustrated sigh through my nose, replacing the vial and headed back to the desk. Surely it would have some explanation right?

The thick dust that coated the entire room was displaced on the desk, and I couldn't help but snort out a laugh as I saw a perfect impression of my hand in the coat of grime. I pulled open one of the drawers, it was filled with dozens of blank labels and a well of ink that had long since dried up. I methodically began searching through the drawers, finding some filled with vials of various sizes, magnifying glasses, what looked to be some old scales, and various other botanical and alchemical equipment. I closed the last drawer with a frustrated sigh, irritated that the desk held no answers to the odd labeling system of the vials.

I was tempted to just try them on various things, but I hadn't yet reached that point of desperate curiosity where I was willing to risk drinking mysterious liquids in a secret room. I let out another frustrated sigh, sitting on the ground in a huff. If I were an ancient botanist who wished to put all of my materials and research in a secret location, where would I put the key to my organizational system? I would probably have memorized my own system, meaning the sole purpose for such a thing would be as a guide to others or for reflective study. I stood with an irritated sigh, that would mean that it would make no sense to put such a thing inside the secret room.

I began climbing the stairs with an irritated grumble. Of course all the answers wouldn't be located in a single location, the would only make this infinitely easier! I spent the frustratingly long climb murmuring half insults to myself and the creator of the room that had decided to make such an odd treasure hunt of understanding their research. By the time I reached the top of the staircase, I was sore, sweaty, and incredibly irritated. I found the button and pressed it, satisfied when I heard the grinding of stone on stone and saw the opening begin to form above me. 

I blinked my eyes rapidly at the sudden bright sunlight, groaning as I left the dim cavern behind and entered the sunlit greenhouse. I stepped out onto the worn cobblestones and immediately started laughing when I saw how horrendous I looked. The small reflecting pool near the courtyard showed the sorry state I was in. My hair was a tangled mess, my eyes were still red and puffy from crying, and I was covered in dust and grime from the cavern below. I ran my fingers quickly through my hair in an effort to wrangle it into something slightly more presentable. It didn't take me long to give up and tie it back in one of the extra scraps of cloth I had on me.

I splashed some water on my face and hands to remove the dust that coated them and took a deep breath. Since the identity of the gardener remained a mystery, looking through whichever room was previously theirs was not an option. That left the library, which I was sure I had thoroughly searched by now, or some other hidden area I had yet to find. Maybe even the royal vault itself? With that thought, a flurry of new questions entered my mind and I mentally slapped myself, I could just ask the king.

King Frederic was sure to at least know the identity of the previous royal botanist, and it was possible he also knew where the key to their research was located. Now the idea that he would be willing to share such information was another matter entirely, and then I would have to reveal that I had discovered the secret room...No. Surely it wasn't unbelievable that I would be curious as to who had previously filled my position, right? That wasn't an odd question in and of itself. Of course, to go before the King himself in order to receive the answer to such a question, that would raise a few eyebrows.

I worried my lip between my teeth as I ran through possibilities. I could ask Rapunzel to ask her father for me, but the thought of lying to her face filled me with guilt. Plus, she was always busy with something, and finding her would be a lot of effort. SO I would have to ask the king himself, but what reason could I possibly have to get an audience with the king himself? I paused for a moment, mentally slapping myself again.

I had an express request from the king to resolve the issue of grain disease that I had a possible solution to. I would just have to finish the last bit and confirm it truly works, and then I would be sure to get an audience with the king to properly inform him and present the solution. Why hadn't I thought of this sooner? I shook my head, an excited bounce in my step as I left the greenhouse behind. It wasn't until I was already weaving through the palace halls that reality struck, all of my research and work was located in the lab. I was going to have to face Varian.


	21. Chapter 21

I had been pacing outside of the lab for I wasn't sure how long. It shouldn't be that complicated right? For all I knew he wasn't even in the lab right now, I could be stressing over nothing! Of course, he was complaining about how he had nothing to do so the then logical conclusion would be that he was here, but that didn't necessarily mean anything right? I let out a frustrated sigh as I ran a hand over my face, how did everything get so complicated?

"So are you going to keep pacing outside of your lab all day or are you going to go inside? Because I have a lot of things to do today," I jumped at the sudden voice from behind me. I turned slowly to be met with the smirking face of Cassandra, she had a hand firmly planted on her hip and was eyeing me with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh! Hey, Cassandra. No, it's nothing weird or anything, I was just...thinking about something," I winced even as the words left my mouth. Ya, that didn't sound strange or suspicious at all, great job.

"What, did you and Varian have a fight or something?" Her tone was joking, but the teasing smirk immediately fell from her face when she saw my expression. "Wait, seriously? I couldn't imagine you two disagreeing over anything, what happened?" She gently laid a hand on my shoulder, her face filled with concern.

I sighed, gently massaging my forehead as I considered everything that had happened. It wasn't a fight, obviously, but certainly, something must have changed right? Or was I overthinking this?

"No, no," I finally said, my voice sounding just as exhausted as I felt. "Nothing like that. I just said something I shouldn't have. For all I know, everything is fine but, well, I think I might make a fool of myself." her pitying expression was like a knife to the chest. I sucked in a breath, straightening my posture and schooling my expression into something neutral. "But that isn't important, what can I help you with Cassandra?"

She eyed me for a moment with a raised eyebrow. She obviously knew something was bothering me but was debating whether or not to push me on it. After a moment she let out a frustrated sigh and turned toward the door of the lab.

"The day of hearts is tomorrow, and let's just say I'm planning something big. I should have everything handled, but in case anything goes sideways I wanted you two to look after something while I'm out," my eyes widened at that. Cassandra? Asking for backup? This must be something serious. 

"Of course, I'd be happy to help in any way I could," I said excitedly. Some secret mission to protect something important? How could I say no?

"Great," she said with a small smile before starting a quick pace toward the lab. "Now I just need to ask Varian." I took a deep breath, ignoring my pounding heart, and followed Cassandra into the lab.

It was darker than usual and oddly clear. No evidence of strange experiments or explosions filled the room. I furrowed my brow in confusion as I followed Cassandra deeper into the space where both our work areas were. The closer we got, the more I could hear the echoes of Varian mumbling to himself as he worked.

"So stupid...How could I have done that? I just sat there...And then she ran away! Of course, she did, you didn't say anything! Stupid, stupid, stupid..." he trailed off into irritated grumbling. My stomach clenched at his words, so he felt bad about how he reacted. He shouldn't worry about it, I did spring it on him out of nowhere.

We turned a corner to find him hunched over his work table. He was still muttering to himself as he dashed frantically between bottles. I watched for a moment confused, he had just told me the other day he had finished the work on all of his most recent experiments, so what was he working on? Cassandra cleared her throat loudly and Varian jumped, frantically shoving his goggles off of his eyes to get a clear look at us.

A natural smile spread onto his face when he saw Cassandra, which faded as soon as he saw me behind her. I wilted at his expression, his whole body had tensed up as soon as he saw me. I looked away, not wanting to see whatever mask he tried to put up to cover his feelings.

"Hello Varian," said Cassandra confidently, and I prayed thanks for her being here to fill the silence. "I was just telling Y/N that I would like to have both of your assistance on something. I have something big planned and while I'm sure I will be fine on my own, I thought it would be smart to have some back up just in case." I saw Varian's eyes widen in surprise as she talked, just as shocked as I was that Cassandra was asking for help.

"Of course, I'll be happy to help in any way I can," he responded with a bright smile. I winced as I saw Cassandra look over her shoulder at me and flash me a knowing smirk. We had responded nearly the same when she asked us, not that I was surprised.

"Wonderful," she said with a smile. "I'll fill you guys in tomorrow, but just know that you two will be standing guard somewhere," Varian nodded his head excitedly in agreement and Cassandra chuckled before waving at us both and heading for the door. Oh god.

I locked my gaze onto the floor and made a beeline for my work table. It was just as messy as ever and I busied my self with organizing everything I would need to present my solution to the king. This was all I needed to focus on right now, finishing this, and maybe get some answers to all of the questions that had been flying through my brain. I could feel his eyes on me, the back of my neck pickled from the weight of his gaze but I refused to acknowledge it. I wouldn't be able to stand the look of pity in his eyes if I turned to face him, I couldn't do it.

I hunched my shoulders and redoubled my efforts to get this done as quickly as possible. I didn't want to be here any longer than I had to. I kept a steady internal monologue as I worked through the necessary tasks one by one. The solution I had been working on should work perfectly, all of the experiments I'd conducted so far had been successful. I just had to finish noting down specifically what occurred and how it occurred, checking and double-checking everything I wrote was both true and made sense.

"Um...Y/N?" I jumped as the silence was broken by Varian's uncertain voice. Why did this have to happen? I let out a breath through my nose, forcing my muscles to relax and my face into a neutral expression. Let's just get this over with.

"Yes, Varian?" I replied, turning to face him. He was wringing his hands nervously, he looked incredibly uncomfortable. His shoulders were hung hed and he looked at me with a pleading expression. He stuttered for a moment, struggling to say whatever it was he had on his mind. He paused, taking a breath before focusing on me with an intense look.

"I think we should talk about what happened," he said firmly, though I could still see the nervousness in his eyes.

"Oh, that," I replied breezily, turning away from him to continue my notes at my work station. "Don't worry about it, I understand." There was a bit of a pause after his words and I sensed he was letting my words sink in.

"But- but you? I'm confused," he stuttered. I forced a laugh, turning to him with a smile plastered on my face.

"What? I understand if you had other plans for the day of hearts, of course. We hang out all the time, I wouldn't want to take you away from whoever it was you're planning to spend the day with," I forced another laugh as I turned back to my table. "Besides, we're just friends so of course I understand."

"Oh, right," he quietly responded in a tone I couldn't place. I shook my head a little, focusing on the moment at hand. There, everything would be fixed now. Me and Varian were back to being friends and he was free to do what he wished, I tried to ignore the stabbing sensation in my chest at the thought. How I felt didn't matter, whatever it was would fade and everything would go back to normal.

I gathered everything from the table I would need, arranging it so it would be easier to transport, the conference hall was on the opposite side of the palace and it would be just my luck to trip on the way there and destroy everything I'd been working on. I looked around the room, scanning for any sign of a leftover crate I could use to carry everything. Finding nothing around I let out an irritated huff, holding my head in my hands.

My nerves were shot, everything happening one after the other making me jump from one crazy emotion to the other. I was exhausted, it crashed over me in a wave and I sat heavily on the chair next to my work station. But I couldn't stop now, I was so close to finally getting some answers. I sat there a moment, forcing the rushing thoughts that had been flying through my mind to go silent and letting the tension that had been building in my shoulders drain out with each breath.

After this, I was taking a break I promised myself. Feeling more settled, I stood and gathered up what I needed. I would just have to be extra careful as I made my journey, I wasn't in a rush. It was an awkward armful of stuff but I juggled it as I slowly walked toward the door of the lab.

"Y/N, wait up!" Varian jogged up behind me and began taking some of the things from my arms. At my surprised expression, he offered a warm smile. "I'm not busy right now and you looked like you needed help." I offered him a grateful smile before pushing open the door and making my way toward the conference hall, it was time to meet with the king.


	22. Chapter 22

The conference hall was a clamor of activity. It felt as though the entire town had fit themselves within the room and each of them was desperately vying for the King's attention. King Frederic looked exhausted, but he held himself with a stern and authoritative posture that automatically made him intimidating. I released a small breath I hadn't even realized I was holding, this was looking like it'd be more difficult than I imagined. I turned to say something to Varian, only to find him being slowly separated from me in the crush of people.

I quickly reached out a hand, shoving through the small number of people and tightly grabbing onto his arm as I dragged him back towards me. He nodded appreciatively and I turned back towards the throne, hoping to find a route towards the king himself. I scanned the room frantically, before letting out a frustrated sigh and turning to Varian with a disappointed shake of my head. There was no way we'd be able to make it through the crowd.

He craned his neck around my form as if to check to make sure there was no way up there. He met my gaze with a mischievous smirk that I couldn't help but match. So he had a plan. He raised an eyebrow at me as if asking permission to do whatever it was he had in mind. Knowing him it was going to be some sort of alchemy based explosion to disperse the crowd, and we might get in trouble for it, but whatever happens, we would still get the king's attention...I nodded at him, silently giving him permission.

His face lit up with an excited grin as he dug into one of his pockets and came up with a purple ball. I recognized it immediately as one of his alchemical dispersion options, though what exactly it did I had no idea. He rolled the ball around in his hand for a moment, before hurling it to the ground in front of him. Almost immediately after a thick purple smoke started to fill the room.

The people around me started panicking and began to rush toward the exit in a tightly packed crowd. I lost sight of Varian and felt the adrenaline in my system spike as I was carried along with the flow of the crowd. It was impossible to see past the thick smoke and the crush of bodies surrounding me, the blood rushed through my ears and I all I could hear past the frightened cries of the crowd was my frantic heartbeat.

I felt a hand tightly grab my arm and in a moment I was pulled up and out of the crowd. I panicked for a moment, my arms and legs thrashing as I was suddenly floating through the air instead of firmly on the ground. I looked up only to see the flushed and thrilled face of Varian. Somehow he had managed to clamber up onto a chandelier and not only picked me out of the mob rushing to go through the doors but had also been able to drag me up there with him.

I let out a delighted laugh as I swung up next to him and carefully balanced myself between some of the bars. He was sweaty and out of breath but he was grinning like a maniac and I could tell how proud of himself he was. I shook my head, a fond grin plastered onto my face.

"You are just full of surprises aren't you?" I asked with a smirk. He laughed, a little embarrassed as he brushed some of his hair away from his face. 

"What can I say," he started with a delighted smirk. "I just like to keep you guessing." I felt my face flush at his response and quickly turned my gaze away. By now the room was nearly empty, I squinted my eyes and began scanning the room frantically for the king. I jumped a little when the sound of someone clearing their throat broke the silence. King Frederic met my surprised gaze with a level scowl and I felt myself sheepishly grin in response. He silently raised an eyebrow at me and I began the awkward and thoroughly embarrassing process of lowering myself from the chandelier.

I had finally managed to get on the ground without falling or hurting myself when I heard a loud thump from behind me and a pained groan. I couldn't help but snicker as I turned and helped Varian up from his position on the floor. I turned awkwardly to the king who had finally settled back into his throne. I cleared my throat and dropped into a quick curtsy.

"Hello your majesty, sorry for the disturbance," my voice shook a little, and even as I rose from my curtsy I kept my gaze locked firmly on the ground in front of me. I heard him release a small huff of breath before he responded.

"I trust you have a good reason for throwing my consultations with the citizens of Corona into chaos?" I winced a little at his irritated voice before slowly and cautiously lifting my head to meet his gaze.

"Of course your majesty, I am pleased to announce that I have successfully produced a cure for the rampant grain disease that has been affecting the people. Forgive me, but I thought it best to inform you of this in person and a more private environment than in front of all the people," admittedly, I had not planned on that but in retrospect, it did make more sense to present him with this information without informing the entire kingdom as well. He nodded thoughtfully at my words.

"I see, that is indeed a wonderful development. Will you be able to produce enough of this cure for the entire kingdom?"

"Yes, the process to create it isn't incredibly difficult and the ingredients themselves are fairly common. We should be able to eliminate the disease without any considerable cost," I allowed myself a small proud smile at that, I had worked hard in simplifying and streamlining the process so it would be able to mass-produced and distributed without too much effort. No use in making a cure that can't be used by everyone. 

The king let out a relieved sigh and I saw some of the tension drain from his shoulders. I felt a small stab of guilt that it had been a weight on his mind even while I distracted myself and delayed the process. It was my fault, I would simply have to be better in the future. The silence stretched for a moment and I knew with complete certainty that if I didn't take my chance now I may never have it again.

"Uhm, your majesty? May I ask you something?" I could hear the nervousness in my voice. He met my gaze again, a flicker of curiosity present in his eyes as he nodded his agreement. "Who was the previous botanist for the royal family? And what happened to them? I find it hard to believe that any botanist would abandon a greenhouse so full of rare and carefully bred plants yet when I was hired it was completely overgrown and abandoned."

He let out a weary sigh and brought his hand to his forehead. A sense of apprehension settled on me, what had happened? He clearly didn't want to tell me about it, but why?

"I was wondering when you were going to ask about that..." he finally said. It came out as more of a resigned and exhausted sigh than anything else. I felt my shoulders tense at his tone and had to firmly keep myself in the same position to avoid leaning forward eagerly. "Come with me." he stood from his throne and began walking with a brisk pace toward the exit.

I was left stunned for a moment and had to jog to catch up with him. I couldn't help the excited grin that came to my face and I looked back to share the moment with Varian only to find him standing awkwardly where I left him. I sighed, rolling my eyes with a smile as I eagerly motioned for him to join us. A relieved smile spread across his face and he happily rushed over to join us as we exited the throne room and headed toward the wing of the palace dedicated specifically to the king and queen.

This area of the palace was filled floor to ceiling with exquisite paintings and artefacts that presumably came from all over the seven kingdoms. I couldn't help but stare in open-mouthed awe as my eyes frantically tried to take in every lush detail of the hall around me. The king cleared his throat and I felt my face flush as I refocused on the task at hand. He led us on a winding path through the halls as I tried my best to not get distracted but the opulence and luxury surrounding me.

Finally, we came upon a huge and intricately crafted door. It was covered in rich purple and many intricate golden suns. The door was guarded by two men who eyed the group of us with wide-eyed surprise. I shyly peeked out from behind the cave and gave them each a friendly wave that they each returned before their eyes snapped back to the king and the resumed their stiff postures.

King Frederic dismissed them with a wave as he began the process of opening the intricate locks that sealed the door shut. With a last ominous click, the door swung open to reveal a pitch dark room. I squinted into the darkness, waiting for something to reveal itself from the inky darkness. The king ventured into the room, fumbling along the wall until all at once a series of sconces in the wall illuminated with a warm golden glow.

This was the royal vault. I was in the royal vault, oh my god! The room was filled with a variety of strange and unique objects. Many of them didn't look valuable or rare outright, but my mind couldn't help but to immediately jump to crazy and outlandish theories of why they had to be locked in here. Before I could get too caught up in my own train of thought I was being led deeper into the vault by the king.

"I'm sure that you've already formed your own ideas about the previous botanist based off of whatever you've found in the greenhouse. I myself don't know much on the subject, I only looked into it after we hired you. All I was able to find was this, and it left more questions than answers I'm afraid," his voice was low and resigned as he turned back toward me. I couldn't restrain the thrilled gasp at the bound and worn leather journal in his hands. This was it!

He gently handed the journal over to me and I clutched it to my chest with a thrilled grin. I held the journal out in front of me reverently before slowly and carefully flipping it open. I wasn't surprised to see the familiar scrawl that I now associated with the secret room beneath the greenhouse. I looked back up to the king with an appreciative smile.

"Thank you, your highness, this is exactly what I needed."


	23. Chapter 23

My mind was a blur of excitement as I left the royal safe. Varian was eyeing me with curiosity but my entire body was thrumming with the pure joy of finally being able to decode the room beneath the greenhouse. Maybe now I could finally get some answers. Everything in me wanted to head there immediately, but that would mean revealing the secret to Varian as well. I knew he would be just as excited as I was, and even though I knew his nature with secrets it would be nice to have a companion. Still, the thought of someone other than me knowing the secret entrance, poring over the notebooks, discovering the nature of the mysterious formulas below, it all just felt so wrong.

Which would mean I would have to wait to uncover whatever secrets lay below. Tomorrow would be chaos incarnate due to the huge celebration and my own obligation to Cassandra. So I would only be able to get into the room with plenty of time to myself two days from now, having to wait that long made me want to jump out of my skin. I clutched the journal to my chest desperatley, feeling the old worn leather warm under my skin. I promised myself that as soon as I could I would finally allow myself to uncover the secrets of the previous botanist, but now was not that time.

"So, you seemed pretty excited about that journal, any idea what it is?" Varian leaned toward me curiously, his eyes twinkling with the familiar glimmer of whenever he wanted to properly investigate something. He was clearly trying to act casual, but I knew him and how curious he probably was about the journal and it's contents. I plastered a smile on my face and gave him my most convincing shrug.

"Honestly, I have no clue, but I'm really excited to learn more about it," I let out a dramatic sigh and gave the journal a pouting look. "But I have so much going on right now that I don't have the time to properly dedicate my attention to it. So it will probably have to wait a while." Varian gave me a sympathetic look and nodded his head. I felt a stab of guilt at lying to him, but some things were ok to keep private right?

As we walked through the hall I noticed the dim light coming form outside and the exhaustion I had been putting off for so long hit me all at once. I could feel tyhe weight of gravity dragging me down and encouraging me to make myself comfortable on the floor instead of going through the effort of walking all the way to my room. Varian caught my change in demanor and gave me a fond smile before gently taking my arm and allowing m to shift my weight and lean on him for support. I let my eyes slide closed and trusted him to guide me toward my room as I relaxed my aching muscles and let the tension that had been building for who knows how long drain out of me all at once.

I was half asleep when he reached my room and I could feel Varian chuckle a bit as he opened the door and led me to my bed, carefully tucking me under the heap of blankets. I smiled a bit, cracking my eyes open only to catch him giving me such a vulnerable and soft look that I closed them before he could see. I mumbled my thanks and I heard him laugh softly again before replying.

"No problem, sweet dreams," he whispered softly before leaving and closing the door with a soft click. I thought I heard him mumble something else just outside the door but my brain was already foggy from sleep and I couldn't quit catch it. The welcoming hands of sleep drug my mind into the fog and I found myself falling headfirst into the darkness.

I blinked my eyes open to reveal the halls of the palace, but something was slightly off. The walls around me were hazy, and glowed seemingly from within by a strange golden light. Was I dreaming? Or was this another one of my visions? I'd never been conscious of myself while in a vision before, maybe I was getting better? The thought struck me with a flush of pride, but the feeling was immediatley clouded over by doubt. My visions had never looked this...hazy before, every one of them was crystal clear and usually incredibly intense.

I took a step forward and was struck with the sensation of walking through warm water. Every step provided a strange resistance, as if I wasn't meant to be here and the world itself was trying to slwoly push me out. It was an unsettling thought, but the area around me didn't seem sinister or threatening. In fact, the entire place seemed aglow with warmth and welcome. I couldn't stop a smile from coming to my face as I slowly spun around and took in the hall.

It was mostly the same, but there were fewer guards patroling the halls and the entire place seemed aglow with sunlight. I walked up to one of the huge windows and looked out over the town. I couldn't help but gasp as my hand flew up to my mouth in shock. The town was not even close to the bustling busy place I had come to know. The buildings were small and squat, each of them surrrounded by small yards and gardens, and the few people walking through the streets were complete strangers to me. Surely this couldn't be the future? Where had everyone gone to?

Puzzled, I turned back to the hall, determined to search through the palace and find some answers as to what had happened to Corona. Suddenly, one of the doors burst open and an older gentleman I didn't recognize stepped out. His hair was just starting to grey around the temples from the light brown of his natural color, the deep lines and wrinkles on his face spoke of a life time of laughter and happiness, his dark blue eyes glimmered with deep thought. He looked troubled as he began a steady march down the hall in my direction. Judging by the splendor and richness of his clothes he was most likely royalty, or at least incredibly wealthy.

A tall and nervous looking man stumbled out of the now open door and searched the hall frantically before his eyes settled on the rich man with relief. He practically ran after the man and caught up to him in a huff, his breath coming in short gasps and his face a deep red.

"My King!" he huffed out, taking a few deep breaths before straightening up and puffing out his chest."Your crown, your majesty, you forgot it in the other room." The nervous man held the crown aloft in his hands, presenting it to the king. I studied the crown in shock, it was the royal crown of Corona, I would recognize it anywhere. I turned my gaze at once to who I now knew to be the king, searching his face for anything I could recognize. Something in the shape of his jaw and the way he quietly exuded authority reminded me of king Frederic, their eyes were the same as well. 

Surely this wasn't Frederic's future son? As far as I knew he was perfectly happy with Rapunzel and had never wished for another child, and surely he and the queen were too old now to think about having a baby? I was getting more confused and frustrated by the minute as the vision seemed to provide more questions than answers. I rolled my eyes as the nervous man groveled at the kings feet as he presented the crown to him. The king shook his head with an exasperated smile as he took the crown and placed it on his head.

"Thank you Nicholas, but you should be at home with your son, I can do without my assistant for a while," Nicholas sputtered for a moment before sighing and nodding gratefully at the king. He walked off at brisk pace mumbling something about his wife and nigel as he left. The king chuckled and began leisurely walking down the halls, looking at them fondly and taking his time to admire it all with a smile.

I couldn't help but smile with him, clearly he was a kind man that valued his subjects and the splendor he was allowed to live in. It was obvious they couldn't see me, their gazes had slid over me as though I wasn't there. I matched the kings pace and walked the halls beside him. Not much had changed in the palace, it was brighter and had fewer paintings and other decorations, but everything else looked the same. The halls were more quiet than I'd ever seen them, there was no rush of servants or handmaidens, now rhythmic pace of guards as the strutted down the palace corridors.

I was just getting ready to give up and search the palace myself when the sound of joyful childish laughter rung down the halls. A radiant smile overtook the kings face and I could practically feel the joy radiating off of him as the laughter got closer to us. In a rush of chaos and energy, a small boy turned the corner closely followed by a handmaiden and a richly dressed woman I assumed to be the queen. The boy couldn't have been older than five, he caught sight of the king and began running even faster than before.

The king crouched to the ground and lifted the boy up into the air as he ran toward him, spinning him around with a happy laugh. The little boy giggled, and I could see now the tiara clutched in his small hands as the king spun him around.

"Hello my little theif! Are you giving your mother trouble?" said the king with fake sternness. The boy giggled and tried to hide the tiara behind his back. The king gave him another stern look and he surrendered the tiara with a pout. The king laughed. "Now Frederic, what have I told you about playing with the royal jewels? You know how important they are."

Surprise struck me immediatley, Frederic? I inspected the boy closely, and it was clear from his dark brown hair to his striking blue eyes that I was indeed looking at a much younger version of King Frederic. By now the queen and the handmaiden had caught up with the king and Frederic. The king was balancing Frederic on his hip and the look of love and contentment on the royal family's faces made my heart swell with happiness. 

The happiness faded a bit as I returned to the overwhelming truth of the vision around me. It was troubling, I had finally been getting a sense for my powers when it threw something completely different at me. Since when could seers see the past?! It hit me all at once. They couldn't. Seers could peer into the future, possible or definite, they even had some power to chnage what fate had set in place. But the past...that was something different all together.

Whatever power was allowing me to visit this moment in time, it wasn't the powers I has inherited from my mother but something else entirely.


	24. Chapter 24

I was distracted from considering the implications of my visit to the past by the king leaving the group of royals. I followed him immediately, I wasn’t sure why or how I’d gotten here but from the moment I arrived I had been placed in the path of the king. Maybe following him would lead me to the answers I needed.

He turned off into one of the servant’s hallways, I furrowed my brow as I followed. Why would a king use these halls to get around? He could go anywhere he wanted unless for some reason he didn’t want to be seen…

The hallways were darker than I’d ever seen them, no lanterns or torches lined the walls to illuminate the familiar cramped passages. Unless the paths had changed, we were heading toward the back of the palace. 

It was hard to see his silhouette in the dark, I squinted my eyes as I searched for his outline, straining my ears to follow his faint footsteps. Finally, we reached the door and entered into the bright afternoon light. I blinked rapidly as my eyes adjusted to the glaring sunlight.

I stood there for a moment, stunned by the wave of oppressive heat that slapped me in the face as I exited the cool passage. A jolt of panic shot through me when I realized the king was already several paces away from me. The panic was almost instantly overshadowed by shock and excitement as I looked past the king and caught sight of my greenhouse.

I released a pleased gasp, my hand rising to cover my mouth as tears pricked the corners of my eyes. It was whole and more beautiful than I’d ever had the pleasure of seeing it. The glass panes were shining like they were made from crystal, the gate was intricately crafted with small vines of climbing roses curling delicately at the edges.

I raced toward it, rushing past the slowly approaching king and placing my hand lovingly on the door. I waited impatiently for the king, nearly imploding with energy as I waited for him to reach me and open the door. He paused next to me, his face grave as he took in a deep breath and set his shoulders as though he was preparing for a great task.

The door pushed open soundlessly, releasing the heady and thick scent of blooming flowers. The smell immediately eased any of the tension from my shoulders as I rushed into the now unfamiliar area. Vines climbed the illuminated walls, their vibrant flowers blooming in every color of the rainbow, plants sprouted from every available area creating a labyrinth of greenery and life.

I twirled happily, drinking in the entire space. It was perfect. The king headed off onto the far left path, I followed, practically skipping as my eyes darted from plant to plant. The overwhelming sense of pride that came upon me as I realized that I had returned the greenhouse to what it had been so many years before. Many of the plants I had brought in were here now, in the same places I had planted them.

An unfamiliar voice reached my ears, muffled through the plants ahead. Again, the king sighed as he gently pushed aside a curtain of leaves from a weeping willow revealing a figure hunched over on the ground. I clasped my hands together, holding my breath as they slowly stood from the ground and dusted themselves off. This was it, this was the moment where I finally found out who the previous botanist was.

The man turned with a lopsided grin, dirt smeared on his face and hands as he wiped some sweat from his forehead. He looked to be somewhere in his fifties, his brown hair interspersed with streaks of grey. His skin was dark and tanned from many hours in the sun, his hands covered in calluses from the rough work of handling plants. He eyed the king with a raised eyebrow, settling a hand on his hip.

“Hello your majesty, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” His voice was friendly and joking and I couldn’t help but find myself smiling with him. I inspected his face closely, something about him seemed so familiar but I couldn’t quite place my finger on it.

“I hate to bother you Robby, but I need your help with something,” the king's voice was low and serious and Robby’s grin fell slightly. He sighed, bringing up a hand to run through his hair.

“I’ve told you before, it isn’t something I can control. I am only shown the past when it has information I need to know, I can’t make it happen and I can’t control when I travel to,” from his tone of voice this was a topic the two frequently revisited. My mind buzzed with excitement, so that is what was happening to me.

I drew closer to the gardener, searching for something that might connect him to me. So I had this power, but how? I groaned, frustrated that I couldn’t ask anything of the people around me.

“Robby, you don’t understand. Something happened years ago and I’m worried if I don’t learn about it now it will be up to Frederic to fix. You have a son, right? So you must understand that I am trying to protect my family,” the king placed a hand on Robby’s shoulder. Robby’s smile crumbled further, clearly he was frustrated and guilty he couldn’t help the king.

“I do understand your majesty, if I could do anything do you truly believe I would refuse? All I can offer you are my services as a botanist and a gardener. But know this, if I am fortunate enough to receive any more information I will tell you,” the king released a weary sigh. Disappointed, he nodded his head and turned to leave the greenhouse.

I looked between the two, torn on who I should follow. I still had so many questions regarding the botanist, I should stay. Robby watched the king exit with a sorrowful expression, my chest ached at his sadness. Gently, I placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping it would provide him comfort despite my lack of physical presence.

At my touch, a shiver shook his entire body. He sucked in a surprised breath, jumping back with his eyes darting around the room rapidly. A delighted grin sprung on his face suddenly as he clasped his hands together.

“Hello?” he questioned as his eyes darted around the room. “So you are visiting, yes? Oh, this is absolutely thrilling! I always hoped this would happen, though I admit it is unsettling knowing someone is with you and not seeing them.” I watched his excitement with a daze, soon replaced by excitement.

“Well I’m sure it’s very nice to meet you, did you follow the king in here?” he paused, as though expecting a response. He waited eagerly for a few moments before a flash of understanding crossed his face. “Oh! Yes, I understand now. Is this your first time? It is rather confusing when you don’t know what you’re doing. Luckily I can help.”

He turned with a smile, a broad gesture suggesting I should follow. He wound through the maze of plants, walking the familiar route to the courtyard. He paused in the center, turning to face the air slightly to my left. I giggled a bit as I stepped to meet his line of sight.  
“Right, well let me give you some basic facts. You can’t open doors or change any events from the past, certain individuals should be able to sense your presence but few will be able to see you, animals almost always will know you are there, and visits to the past usually come with a specific task in mind. It won’t end until you receive some information or witness an event, if you miss it the day will start over from when you arrived. It’s amazing to meet you,” he whispered the last part in awe, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears. I felt my own eyes water as I reached out my hand and touched his shoulder again.

He laughed a little as another shiver overtook him. He shook his head in disbelief, wonder transforming his face.

“That is a truly strange feeling. Well, since I’m not sure what you’re here for I’ll tell you a bit about myself,” he turned, sitting slowly onto one of the benches. He patted the space next to him and I sat, my eyes trained on his face as I awaited his words eagerly.

“My name is Robby, well Robert but no one calls me that, and I’m the botanist for the royal family. They don’t truly need a botanist and honestly, I’m not sure many people know I’m here. I have a wife and son living in my hometown, it’s small but I could never ask them to move. My son is just as invested and fascinated with plants as I am despite how young he is. I’ve been experimenting with various plant breeds and their effects on humans, testing their potency, and what exactly they do. The king has been worried about something recently, something to do with the legend of Zhan Tiri and Demanitus. If you want more detailed accounts of everything, I’ll make sure to write everything down in my journal and have it placed in the royal vault,” he paused for a moment, his eyes unfocusing.

He hummed slightly to himself, and I knew at that moment exactly who he was. I couldn’t help the beaming smile on my face as the realization struck me, this was my grandfather. He hummed while thinking, just like me, he had the same eyes and smile of my father based on the few images I had seen of him. Everything lined up too well to be a coincidence. I jumped up from the bench, crawling on my knees.

Moving anything took a lot of concentration and effort, but I slowly worked on shifting the leaves on the ground in front of me. His focus was now deadset on the ground where I worked, his eyes darting around as I formed the letters as best I could. Finally, I stood, wiping the sheen of sweat from my brow. Hi Grandpa, the leaves spelled out in crooked letters.  
He released a delighted gasp, tears flowing down his cheeks as he smiled at the words in awe. He wrapped his arms tightly around himself as he sat there gazing at the words in awe. Suddenly I felt a tight pull in my sternum like I was being dragged by a string connected to my ribcage. Panicked, I reached out a hand to touch him, the bout of shivers was weaker than before and he gazed at the space in front of him sadly.

“Ah, it’s your time to go already. It will feel like you’re waking up from a deep sleep, so don’t worry. I’m so glad I got to meet you, nothing could be greater than this gift,” his voice was growing more muffled as the world around me began to fade.

I wiped my eyes furiously as my emotions fought within me, I watched the past bleed away with sorrow. I took one last deep breath, settling myself as everything around me went black.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfiction I have ever written, let alone shared. I hope you've enjoyed it so far and thank you so much for reading. I'm going to try and update as quickly as possible. Please let me know what you think!


End file.
